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Om VNITHOLOGY. 


MANUAL 


OF THE 


ORNITHOLOGY 


OF THE 


UNITED STATES AND OF CANADA. 


BY 


THOMAS NUTTALL, A.M., F.L.8. &e. 


SECOND EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS. 


THE LAND BREEDS. 


BOS LON: 
HILLIARD, GRAY, AND COMPANY. 


MDCCCXL, 


Entered according to the act of Congress in the year 1840), by 
Tuomas Nurtratt, in the Clerk’s office of the District Court of 
the District of Massachusetts. . 


BOS. OWN; 


FREEMAN AND BOLLES, PRINTERS, 
WASHINGTON STREET. 


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PREFACE. 


Arter so many excellent works have appeared on 
the Birds of the United States, it may almost appear 
presumptuous, at present, to attempt any addition to 
the list. A compendious and scientific treatise on the 
subject, at a price so reasonable as to permit it to finda 
place in the hands of general readers, seemed, however, 
still a desideratum ; and to supply this defect has been 
a principal object with the author of the present pub- 
lication. 

Besides exploring the ever fruitful field of nature in 
this delightful and fascinating kingdom, every available 
aid has been employed; and, as might be expected, 
invaluable assistance has been derived labors 
of the immortal Wilson and of the ju r@ted 
Audubon. In the scientific part of the Mnual, con- 
stant recurrence has also been had to the useful labors 
of C. L. Bonaparte, Prince of Musignano, and also to 
the well known treatise on European Ornithology by 
the accurate and elaborate ‘l'emminck, as well as to 
other authors of established reputation; such as Bris- 
son, Buffon, Latham, White, and Pennant. 

To a number of obliging friends, who have assisted 
him in obtaining specimens or relations concerning the 
habits of our birds, the author offers his grateful ac- 
knowledgments; particularly to Charles Pickering, 


. vi PREFACE. 


M. D., to whom he is indebted for much valuable in- 
formation on their geographical limits; to William 
Cooper, Esq., well known by his devotion to the study 
of ornithology ; to Mr. Oakes, of Ipswich; to T. W. 
Harris, M. D., Librarian of Harvard University ; to 
S. C. Greene, Esq. of Boston ; and to Mr. Nathaniel J. 
Wyeth, Mr. James Brown, Mr. John Bethune, and 
Mr. Russell, of Cambridge. 

The wood engravings, (not sufficiently numerous, in 
consequence of their cost,) have been executed by 
Mr. Bowen of Boston, and Mr. Hall, in the employ of 
Messrs. Carter & Andrews, of Lancaster. 

A good many new species, and many additional 
observations have been given in this second edition, 
derived from my friend Audubon, as well as the result 
of a journey made by myself and Mr. Townsend across 
the continent to the coast of the Pacific. 


™ 
#9 
ERRATA. 


Note, bottom of page 186, for ‘‘ calacephalus,’’ read ‘* calocephalus.?’ 
Page 309, line 16, for ‘‘ forfita,”? read *‘ forficata.”’ 
ca 400, 11 lines from bottom, for ‘* Turdus cestulatus,’’ read ** Turdus ustula- 
tus.’ 
Swainson’s Vermivora, p. 466, according to Mr. James Elliott Cabot, has never 
been obtained in Massachusetts by his brother. 
Page 601, for Pine Fincn, read Pine Linnev. 
‘¢ 667, transpose JmperraL WoopreckeERr to the genus Prcvs, on p. 668. 
*¢ 727, 9 lines {rom the bottom, for ‘* Lonely,’ read ‘* Lovely.”? 


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As a few technical and scientific words have unavoid- 


ably been introduced into this work, we subjoin the 
following glossary : 


7 
» Mandibles. The two parts which compose the bill. 
Cere. A colored membrane investing the base of the upper mandi- 
ble : as in Hawks, and a few other birds. 
Capistrum. The sides of the head immediately behind the bill. 
Front. The forehead, or fore part of the head. 
Lores. A naked line leading from the bill tothe eyes. 
Orlit. A circle round the eye-brows. © 
Interscapular. The region between the wings, and the back. 
Primaries. The external quills of the wie ce about 10 in num- 


ber. a: 

Secondaries. The nextgi Gills to the se ; Casually about 
10 to 18. Sed tape! 

Tertials. The innermost quills, being from 

Alula. The spurious or bastard winglet, of 4-or 5 small feathers, sit- 
uated at the outer edge of the shoulder of the closed wing. 

Scapulars. Long feathers arising from near the junction of the wing 
with the body above, and lying over each other. 

‘ilar. Of the wings: a term employed in speaking of the stretch of 
the wing. 

Tarsus, The leg bone, joining the commencement of the foot. 


LIST OF THE WOOD CUTS. 


A vignette at the beginning and close of the Intro- ae 
Cte Se are ee seine «| 3 ey OMe 
The Condor, ee ee ee 
memmion Kaleo, .... dys, 3 ee 5, \-« el ehne Ota, 55 
Veesbmiptonbeagie,..° .- - Mee.” .)) 3°"). ye Bees, 70 
Bald Eagle, oR Bag eg ae 3 ee een 74 
Wee ER aiC. ia |g ig 0 gaa Re” Oe ABR ba Hall, £0 
Bwallow-saued Saw, °° 21 Gy .* view -' «Mee BOWER, 97 
BM ert oti o fs cs Pe” Sue Re GEOR, TD 
EMCO, ot eS eo ate ede n° BOR, oe 
Meee SAUEMICUL RM NE a sect ele en!” ok as, OG eee 


eeeated OWlg ss hot as. Se st ga | 4«“BOweR, 4 dao 


Vill LIST OF WOOD CUTS. 
co 


Meadow Lark or Starlf@,. ........ . Halk 156 
Pr enoe.  . le, sera. fw Ke nnn 162 
Red-winged Blackbird, . . . . .. . .... Hall, 179 
Sere Migekbird, 2 ob) S.sc/) en apn) Ss Se 190 
Bob-o-Link, ... . a ee 
Common Crow-Blackbird, Oia. Ss. Ce Bowen, 207 ‘ 
Raven, i. «3. As) Geral oe - ao) 214 
PRAT on, a Race 3) ean ee, © =a Hall, 230 
Blvip Jay, *) cs se tee my 8 te ee rn 238 
feb Titmouse, . ks ee, 255 
Meenere wea i eek se Rf ee en 260 
Cedar Bird, ee Tyee sete” ROE TT Ae Bowen, 274 
Great Avenens Batches Dird, A 5 oe Le a nn 284 
King-Bird, . . .. . a en 293 


Phebe, or Pewitak on og 
Reskicail vig 


ee. 2 Hall, 312 
i A: 327 


Nest of eee. el 331 
Red-Eyed + ie et Se 303 
Mocking-Bird, . . Sg eae 363 
EE MoM sd eds ee 2 |e eng ee 376 
Kidriden We te ew gtk es er 382 
Sammee Vecllow-mils ke ee) caine 417 
Black-throated Green Warbler, .... . . . Hall, 427 
Maryland Yellow-Throat, .. .. : . .». . Hall,” 454 
House Wren, .. 2 ae of > ee 
Great Carolina or Mécking W ren, gee ss 
Short-billed Marsh Wren, . ...+5. .. . . Bowen, 498 
American Fiery-crowned Kinglet, . . ... . . . Halt, 503 
Binestrcd, | ere oe StS Ses Sieh 
rms rie er) oa ee ak, te 522 
Mommen Some-Sparrow, <q... . <*- . 2% Bowen, 562 
cream Rou.) 22 oe se es ks. Sn 
Cardmal Grosbeak, 9. 2 es MS. OS 2 eae ee 
Carolina Parrot, . . . | Pere ee 
Golden-winged W anccker. Se a 
Momncr temmins-Bird, (i e . ..  , 707 
Belted Kame-Wisher, (9... 0. FG. |. tyme Bomem aee 
oS A rr i ie 2 726 
Waetoo Wil, .... . ..°. 5 2 4 Se. + Boe 
PO Pe ees) ke us ss he ee 761 
Wild Turkey, . .. . ee he 773 


Quail, or American Patios, oS eet sh 781 


eee RODUC LION: 


7 


Or all the classes of animals by which we are surrounded in 
the ample field of nature, there are none more remarkable in their 
appearance and habits than the feathered inhabitants of the aur. 
They play around us like fairy spirits, elude approach in an element 
which defies our pursuit, soar out of sight in the yielding sky, 
journey over our heads in marshalled ranks, dart like meteors 
in the sunshine of summer, or seeking the solitary recesses of the 
forest and the waters, they glide before us like beings of fancy. 
They diversify the still landscape with the most lively motion 
and beautiful association; they come and go with the change of 
the season, and as their actions are directed by an uncontrolable 
instinct of provident nature, they may be considered as concomitant 
with the beauty of the surrounding scene. With what grateful 
sensations do we involuntarily hail the arrival of these faithful mes- 
sengers of spring and summer, after the lapse of the dreary winter, 
which compelled them to forsake us for more favored climes. Their 
songs, how heard from the leafy groves and shadowy forests, inspire 
delight, or recollections of the pleasing past, in every breast. How 
volatile, how playfully capricious, how musical and happy, are these 
roving sylphs of nature, to whom the air, the earth, and the waters 
are alike habitable. Their lives are spent in boundless action ; 
and nature, with an omniscient benevolence, has assisted and formed 
them for this wonderful display of perpetual life and vigor, in an 
element almost their own. 


1 


2 INTRODUCTION. 


If we draw a comparison between these inhabitants of the air and 
the earth, we shall perceive that, instead of the large head, formida- 
ble jaws armed with teeth, the capacious chest, wide shoulders, and 
muscular legs of the quadrupeds; they have bills, or pointed jaws 
destitute of teeth; a long and pliant neck, gently swelling shoul- 
ders, immovable vertebre; the fore-arm attenuated toa point, and 
clothed with feathers, forming the expansive wing, and thus fitted 
for a different species of motion; likewise the wide extended tail, 
to assist the general provision for buoyancy throughout the whole 
anatomical frame. For the same general purpose of lightness, exists 
the contrast of slender bony legs and feet. So that, in short, we 
perceive in the whole conformation of this interesting tribe, a struc- 
ture wisely and curiously adapted for their destined motion through 
the air. Lightness and buoyancy appear in every part. of the 
structure of birds; to this end nothing contributes more than the 
soft and delicate plumage with which they are so warmly clad; and 
though the wings, (or great organs of aérial motion by which 
they swim, as it were in the atmosphere,) are formed of such light 
materials, yet the force with which they strike the air is so great as 
to impel their bodies with a rapidity unknown to the swiftest quad- 
ruped. The same grand intention of forming a class of animals to 
move in the ambient desert they occupy above the earth, is likewise 
visible in their internal structure. Their bones are light and thin, 
and all the muscles diminutive, but those appropriated for moving 
the wings. The lungs are placed near to the back-bone and ribs; 
and the air is not, as in other animals, merely confined to the pul- 
monary organs, but passes through, and is then conveyed into a 
number of membranous cells on either side the external region of 
the heart, communicating with others situated beneath the chest. In 
some birds these cells are continued down the wings, extending 
even to the pinions, bones of the thighs, and other parts of the body, 
which can be distended with air at the pleasure or necessity of the 
animal. This diffusion of air is not only intended to assist in light- 
ening and elevating the body, but also appears necessary to prevent 
the stoppage or interruption of respiration, which would otherwise 
follow the rapidity of their motion through the resisting atmosphere ; 
and thus the Ostrich, though deprived of the power of flight, runs 
almost with the swiftness of the wind, and requires, as he possesses, 
the usual resources of air conferred on other birds. Were it possi- 
ble for man to move with the rapidity of a Swallow, the resistance 
of the air, without some such peculiar provision as in birds, would 


INTRODUCTION. 3 


quickly bring on suffocation. The superior vital heat of this class 
of beings is likewise probably due to this greater aération of the 
vital fluid. 

Birds, as well as quadrupeds, may be generally distinguished 
into two great classes from the food on which they are destined 
to subsist; and may, consequently, be termed carnivorous and 
graniverous. Some also hold a middle nature, or partake of both. 
The graniverous and herbivorous birds are provided with larger 
and longer intestines than those of the carniverous kinds. Their 
food, consisting chiefly of grain of various sorts, is conveyed whole 
into the craw or first stomach, where it is softened and acted upon 
by a peculiar glandular secretion thrown out upon its surface ; 
it is then again conveyed into a second preparatory digestive 
organ ; and finally transmitted into the true stomach or gizzard, 
formed of two strong muscles connected externally with a tendinous 
substance, and lined internally with a thick membrane of great 
power and strength; and in this place the unmasticated food is at 
length completely triturated, and prepared for the operation of the 
gastric juice. The extraordinary powers of the gizzard in commi- 
nuting food, to prepare it for digestion, almost exceeds the bounds 
of credibility. Turkeys and common fowls have been made to 
swallow sharp angular fragments of glass, metallic tubes, and balls 
armed with needles, and even lancets, which were found broken 
and compressed without producing any apparent pain, or wounds 
in the stomach. The gravel pebbles swallowed by this class of 
birds with so much avidity, thus appear useful in bruising and 
comminuting the grain they feed on, and preparing it for the solvent 
action of the digestive organs. 

Those birds which live chiefly on grain and vegetable substances, 
partake in a degree of the nature and disposition of herbivorous quad- 
rupeds. In both, the food and the provision for its digestion, are very 
similar. Alike distinguished for sedentary habits and gentleness 
of manners, their lives are harmlessly and usefully passed in col- 
lecting seeds and fruits, and ridding the earth of noxious and 
destructive insects; they live wholly on the defensive with all the 
feathered race, and are content to rear and defend their offspring 
from the attacks of their enemies. It is from this tractable and 
gentle race, as well as from the amphibious or aquatic tribes, that 
man has long succeeded in obtaining useful and domestic species, 
which, from their prolificacy and hardihood, afford a vast supply of 
wholesome and nutritious food. Of these, the Hen, originally from 


4 INTRODUCTION. 


India; the Goose, Duck, and Pigeon of Europe; the Turkey of 
America ; and the Pintado or Guinea-Hen of Africa, are the princi- 
pal: to which may also be added, as less useful, or more recently 
naturalized, the Peacock of India; the Pheasant of the same coun- 
try ; the Chinese and Canada Goose; the Muscovy Duck; and the 
European Swan. 

Carnivorous birds, by many striking traits, evince the destiny for 
which they have been created; they are provided with wings of 
great length, supported by powerful muscles, which enable them to 
fly with energy, and soar with ease at the loftiest elevations. They 
are armed with strong hooked bills; and with the sharp and formi- 
dable claws of the tiger ; they are also further distinguished by their 
large heads, short necks, strong muscular thighs in aid of their re- 
tractile talons, and a sight so piercing, as to enable them, while soar- 
ing at the greatest height, to perceive their prey, upon which they 
sometimes descend, like an arrow, with undeviating aim. In these 
birds the stomach is smaller than in the granivorous kinds, and their 
intestines are shorter. Like beasts of prey, they are of a fierce and 
unsociable nature; and so far from herding together like the in- 
offensive tribes, they drive even their offspring from the eyry, and 
seek habitually the shelter of desert rocks, neglected ruins, or the 
solitude of the darkest forest, from whence they utter loud, terrific, or 
piercing cries, in accordance with the gloomy rage and inquietude of 
their insatiable desires. 

Besides these grand divisions of the winged nations, there are 
others, which, in their habits and manners, might be compared to 
the amphibious animals, as they live chiefly on the water, and feed 
on its productions. To enable them to swim and dive in quest 
of their aquatic food, their toes are connected by broad membranes 
or webs, with which, like oars, they strike the water, and are im- 
pelled with force. In this way even the seas, lakes, and rivers, 
abounding with fish, insects, and seeds, swarm with birds of various 
kinds, which all obtain an abundant supply. There are other aquatic 
birds, frequenting marshes and the margins of lakes, rivers, and the 
sea, which seem to partake of an intermediate nature between the 
land and water tribes. Some of these feed on fishes and reptiles ; 
others, with long and sensible bills and extended necks, seek their 
food in wet and muddy marshes. These birds are not made for 
swimming ; but, familiar with water, they wade, and many follow 
the edge of the retiring waves of the sea, gleaning their insect prey 
at the recession of the tides: for this kind of life nature has provided 


INTRODUCTION. 5 


them with long legs, bare of feathers even above the knees; their 
toes, unconnected by webs, are only partially furnished with mem- 
branous appendages, just sufficient to support them on the soft and 
boggy grounds they frequent. To this tribe belong the Cranes, 
Snipes, Sandpipers, Woodcocks, and many others. 

In comparing the senses of animals in connexion with their in- 
stinct, we find that of sight to be more extended, more acute, and 
more distinct in birds, in general, than in quadrupeds. I say, in 
general, for there are some birds, such as the Owls, whose vision 1s 
less clear than that of quadrupeds ; but this rather results from the ex- 
treme sensibility of the eye ; which, though dazzled with the glare of 
full day, nicely distinguishes even small objects, by the aid of twi- 
light. In all birds the organ of sight is furnished with two mem- 
branes, an external and internal, additicnal to those which occur 
in the human subject. The former (membrana nictitans) or external 
membrane, is situated in the larger angle of the eye; and is, in 
fact, a second and more transparent eye-lid, whose motions are 
directed at pleasure, and its use, besides occasionally cleaning and 
polishing the cornea, is to temper the excess of light, and adjust 
the quantity admitted to the extreme delicacy of the organ. The 
other membrane, situated at the bottom of the eye, appears to be 
an expansion of the optic nerve, which receiving more immediately 
the impressions of the light, must be much more sensible than in 
other animals ; and consequently the sight is in birds far more per- 
fect, and embraces a wider range. Facts and observations bear out 
this conclusion, for a Sparrow-Hawk while, hovering in the air, 
perceives a lark or other small bird sitting on the ground, at twenty 
times the distance that such an object would be visible to a man or 
dog. <A Kite, which soars beyond the reach of human vision, yet 
distinguishes a lizard, field-mouse, or bird, and from this lofty station 
selects the tiny object of his prey, descending upon it in nearly a 
perpendicular line. But it may also be added, that this prodigious 
extent of vision is likewise accompanied with equal accuracy and 
clearness ; for the eye can dilate or contract, be shaded or exposed, 
depressed or made protuberant, so as readily to assume the precise 
form suited to the degree of light and the distance of the object; 
the organ thus answering, as it were, the purpose of a self-adjusting 
telescope, witha shade for examining the most luminous and daz- 
zling objects; and hence the Eagle is often seen to ascend to the 
higher regions of the atmosphere, gazing on the unclouded sun, as 
on an ordinary and familiar object. 


|* 


6 INTRODUCTION. 


The rapid motions executed by birds, have also a reference to the 
perfection of their vision; for, if nature, while she endowed them 
with great agility and vast muscular strength, had left them as short- 
sighted as ourselves, their latent powers would have availed them 
nothing ; and the dangers of a perpetually impeded progress would 
have repressed or extinguished their ardor. We may then, in gen- 
eral, consider the celerity with which an animal moves, as a just 
indication of the perfection of its vision. <A bird, therefore, shooting 
swiftly through the air, must undoubtedly see better than one 
which slowly describes a waving tract. The weak-sighted Bat, 
flying carefully through bars of willow, even when the eyes were ex- 
tinguished, may seem to suggest an exception to this rule of relative 
velocity and vision; but in this case, as in that of some blind indi- 
viduals of the human species, the exquisite auditory apparatus seems 
capable of supplying the defect of sight. Nor are the flickerings of 
the Bat, constantly performed in a narrow circuit, at all to be com- 
pared to the distant and lofty soarings of the Eagle, or the wide 
wanderings of the smaller birds, who often annually pass and repass 
from the arctic circle to the equator. 

The idea of motion, and all the other ideas connected with it, 
such as those of relative volocities, extent of country, the propor- 
tional height of eminences, and of the various inequalities that 
prevail on the surface, are therefore more precise in birds, and 
occupy a larger share of their conceptions, than in the grovelling 
quadrupeds. Nature would seem to have pointed out this superiority 
of vision, by the more conspicuous and elaborate structure of its 
organ ; for in birds the eye is larger in proportion to the bulk of the 
head than in quadrupeds; it is also more delicate and finely fash- 
ioned, and the impressions it receives must consequently excite 
more vivid ideas. 

Another cause of difference in the instincts of birds and quad- 
rupeds, is the nature of the element in which they live. Birds 
know better than man, the degrees of resistance in the air, its tem- 
perature at different heights, its relative density, and many other 
particulars, probably, of which we can form no adequate conception. 
They foresee more than we, and indicate better than our weather- 
glasses, the changes which happen in that voluble fluid; for often 
have they contended with the violence of the wind, and still oftener 
have they borrowed the advantage of its aid. The Eagle, soaring 
above the clouds, can at will escape the scene of the storm, and 
in the lofty region of calm, far within the aérial boundary of 


INTRODUCTION. % 


eternal frost,* enjoy a serene sky and a bright sun, while the terres- 
trial animals remain involved in darkness, and exposed to all the 
fury of the tempest. In twenty-four hours it can change its climate, 
and sailing over different countries, it will form a picture exceeding 
the powers of the pencil or the imagination. The quadruped knows 
only the spot where it feeds, its valley, mountain, or plain; it has no 
conception of the expanse of surface, or of remote distances, and gen- 
erally no desire to push forward its excursions beyond the bounds of 
its immediate wants. Hence remote journeys and extensive migra- 
tions are as rare among quadrupeds, as they are frequent among birds. 
It is this desire, founded on their acquaintance with foreign countries, 
on the consciousness of their expeditious course, and on their fore- 
sight of the changes that will happen in the atmosphere, and the 
revolutions of seasons, that prompts them to retire together at the 
powerful suggestions of an unerring instinct. When their food 
begins to fail, or the cold and heat to incommode them, their in- 
nate feelings and latent powers urge them to seek the necessary 
remedy for the evils that threaten their being. The inquietude 
of the old is communicated to the young; and collecting in troops, 
by common consent, influenced by the same general wants, im- 
pressed with the approaching changes in the circumstances of their 
existence, they give way to the strong reveries of instinct, and wing 
their way over land and sea to some distant and better country. 

Comparing animals with each other, we soon perceive that smell, 
in general, is much more acute among the quadrupeds than the birds. 
Even the pretended scent of the Vulture is imaginary, as he does not 
perceive the tainted carrion, on which he feeds, through a wicker 
basket, though its odor is as potent as in the open air. This choice 
also of decaying flesh, is probably regulated by his necessities, and 
the deficiency of his muscular powers to attack a living, or even tear 
in pieces a recent prey. The structure of the olfactory organ, in 
birds, is obviously inferior to that of quadrupeds ; the external nos- 
trils are wanting, and those odors which might excite sensation have 
access only to the duct leading from the palate: and even in those, 
where the organ is disclosed, the nerves, which take their origin from 
it, are far from being so numerous, so large, or so expanded as in the 
quadrupeds. We may, therefore, regard touch in man, smell in the 
quadruped, and sight in birds, as respectively the three most perfect 
senses, which exercise a general influence on the character. 


* The mean heights of eternal frost, under the equator, and at the latitude of 30° 
and 60°, are respectively 15,207; 11,484, and 3,818 feet. 


& INTRODUCTION. 


After sight, the most perfect of the senses in birds appears to be 
hearing, which is even superior to that of the quadrupeds, and scarce- 
ly exceeded in the human species. We perceive with what facility 
they retain and repeat tones, successions of notes, and even words ; 
we delight to listen to their unwearied songs, to the incessant war- 
bling of their tuneful affection. Their ear and throat are more ductile 
and powerful than in other animals, and their voice more capacious 
and generally agreeable. A Crow, which is scarcely more than the 
thousandth part the size of an ox, may be heard as far, or farther ; 
the Nightingale can fill a wider space with its music than the human 
voice. This prodigious extent and power of sound depend entirely 
on the structure of their organs ; but the support and continuance of 
their song result solely from their internal emotions. 

The windpipe is wider and stronger in birds than in any other class 
of animals, and usually terminates below in a large cavity that aug- 
ments the sound. The lungs too have greater extent, and communi- 
cate with internal cavities, which are capable of being expanded with 
air, and, besides lightening the body, give additional strength to the 
voice. Indeed the formation of the thorax, the lungs, and all the 
organs connected with these, seem expressly calculated to give force 
and duration to their utterance. 

Another circumstance, showing the great power of voice in birds, 
is the distance at which they are audible in the higher regions of the 
atmosphere. An Eagle may rise at least to the height of 17,000 feet, 
for it is there just visible. Flocks of Storks and Geese may mount 
still higher, since, notwithstanding the space they occupy, they soar 
almost out of sight; their cry will therefore be heard from an altitude 
of more than three miles, and is at least four times as powerful as 
the voice of men and quadrupeds. 

Sweetness of voice and melody of song are qualities which in birds 
are partly natural and partly acquired. The facility with which they 
catch and repeat sounds, enables them not only to borrow from each 
other, but often even to copy the more difficult inflections and tones 
of the human voice, as well as of musical instruments. It is re- 
markable, that, in the tropical regions, where the birds are arrayed in 
the most glowing colors, their voices are hoarse, grating, singular, or 
terrific. Our sylvan Orpheus, (the Mocking-bird,) the Brown Thrush, 
the Warbling Flycatcher; as well as the Linnet, the Thrush, the 
Blackbird, and the Nightingale of Europe, preéminent for song, are 
all of the plainest colors and weakest tints. 

The natural tones of birds, setting aside those derived from edu- 
cation, express the various modifications of their wants and passions ; 


INTRODUCTION. 9 


they change even according to different times and circumstances. 
The females are much more silent than the males; they have cries 
of pain or fear, murmurs of inquietude or solicitude, especially for 
their young; but of song they are generally deprived. The song 
of the male is inspired by tender emotion, he chants his affectionate 
lay with a sonorous voice, and the female replies in feeble accents. 
The Nightingale, when he first arrives in the spring, without his 
mate, is silent; he begins his lay in low, faltering, and unfrequent 
airs; and it is not until his consort sits on her eggs, that his en- 
chanting melody is complete; he than tries to relieve and amuse 
her tedious hours of incubation, and warbles more pathetically and 
variably his amorous and soothing lay. In a state of nature this 
propensity for song only continues through the breeding season, for 
after that period it either entirely ceases, becomes enfeebled, or loses 
its sweetness. 

Conjugal fidelity and parental affection are among the most con- 
spicuous traits of the feathered tribes. The pair unite their labors 
in preparing for the accommodation of their expected progeny; and 
during the time of incubation, their participation of the same cares 
and solicitudes continually augments their mutual attachment. 
When the young appear, a new source of care and pleasure opens 
to them, still strengthening the ties of affection; and the tender 
charge of rearing and defending their infant brood requires the 
joint attention of both parents. ‘The warmth of first affection is thus 
succeeded by calm and steady attachment, which by degrees ex- 
tends, without suffering any diminution, to the rising branches of 
the family. 

This conjugal union, in the rapacious tribe of birds, the Eagles, 
and Hawks, as well as with the Ravens and Crows, continues com- 
monly through life. Among many other kinds it is also of long endur- 
ance, as we may perceive in our common Pewee and the Blue-bird, 
who year after year continue to frequent and build in the same cave, 
box, or hole in the decayed orchard tree. But, in general, this asso- 
ciation of the sexes expires with the season, after it has completed 
the intentions of reproduction, in the preservation and rearing of 
the offspring. The appearance even of sexual distinction, often 
vanishes in the autumn, when both the parents and their young are 
then seen in the same humble and oblivious dress. When they 
arrive again amongst us in the spring, the males in flocks, often 
by themselves, are clad anew in their nuptial livery; and with vigor- 
ous songs, after the cheerless silence in which they haye passed the 


10 INTRODUCTION, 


winter, they now seek out their mates, and warmly contest the right 
to their exclusive favor. 

With regard to food, birds have a more ample latitude than quad- 
rupeds; flesh, fish, amphibia, reptiles, insects, fruits, grain, seeds, 
roots, herbs ; in a word, whatever lives or vegetates. Nor are they 
very select in their choice, but often catch indifferently at what they 
can most easily obtain. Their sense of taste appears indeed much less 
acute than in quadrupeds; for, if we except such as are carnivorous, 
their tongue and palate are, in general, hard, and almost cartilagin- 
ous. Sight and scent can only direct them, though they possess 
the latter in an inferior degree. The greater number swallow with- 
out tasting ; and mastication, which constitutes the chief pleasure in 
eating, isentirely wanting to them. As their horny jaws are unpro- 
vided with teeth, the food undergoes no preparation in the mouth, 
but is swallowed in unbruised and untasted morsels. Yet there is 
reason to believe, that the first action of the stomach, or its pre- 
paratory ventriculus, affords in some degree the ruminating gratifica- 
tion of taste, as after swallowing food, in some insectivorous and 
carnivorous birds, the motion of the mandibles, exactly like that of 
ordinary tasting, can hardly be conceived to exist without conveying 
some degree of gratifying sensation. 

The clothing of birds varies with the habits and climates they in- 
habit. The aquatic tribes, and those which live in northern regions, 
are provided with an abundance of plumage and fine down; from 
which circumstance often we may form a correct judgment of their 
natal regions. Inall climates, aquatic birds are almost equally feather 
ed, and are provided with posterior glands containing an oily substance 
for anointing their feathers, which, aided by their thickness, pre- 
vents the admission of moisture to their bodies. These glands are 
less conspicuous in land-birds, unless, like the fishing Eagles, their 
habits be to plunge in the water in pursuit of their prey. 

The general structure of feathers seems purposely adapted both 
for warmth of clothing and security of flight. In the wings of all 
birds which fly, the webs composing the vanes, or plumy sides of 
the feather, mutually interlock by means of regular rows of slender 
hair-like teeth, so that the feather, except at and towards its base, 
serves asa complete and close screen from the weather on the one 
hand, and as an impermeable oar on the other, when situated in the 
wing, and required to catch and retain the impulse of the air. In 
the birds which do not fly, and inhabit warm climates, the feathers 
are few and thin, and their lateral webs are usually separate, as in the 
Ostrich, Cassowary, Emu, and extinct Dodo. In some cases feathers 


INTRODUCTION. 11 


seem to pass into the hairs, which ordinarily clothe the quadrupeds, 
as in the Cassowary, and others; and the base of the bill in many 
birds is usually surrounded with these capillary plumes. 

The greater number of birds cast their feathers annually, and ap- 
pear to suffer much more from it than the quadrupeds do from a sim- 
ilar change. The best fed fowl ceases at this time to lay. The sea- 
son of moulting is generally the end of summer or autumn, and their 
feathers are not completely restored till the spring. The male some- 
times undergoes, as we have already remarked, an additional moult 
towards the close of summer; and among many of the waders and 
web-footed tribes, as Sandpipers, Plovers, and Gulls, both sexes ex- 
perience a moult twice in the year, so that their summer and winter 
livery appears wholly different. 


The stratagems and contrivances instinctively employed by birds 
for their support and protection, are peculiarly remarkable ; in this 
way those which are weak are enabled to elude the pursuit of the 
strong and rapacious. Some are even screened from the attacks of 
their enemies by an arrangement of colors assimilated to the places 
which they most frequent for subsistence and repose : thus the Wry- 
neck is scarcely to be distinguished from the tree on which it seeks 
its food; or the Snipe from the soft and springy ground which it fre- 
quents. The Great Plover finds its chief security in stony places, to 
which its colors are so nicely adapted, that the most exact observer 
may be deceived. The same resort is taken advantage of by the 
Night-Hawk, Partridge, Plover, and the American Quail, the young 
brood of which squat on the ground, instinctively conscious of being 
nearly invisible, from their close resemblance to the broken ground 
on which they lie, and trust to this natural concealment. The same 
kind of deceptive and protecting artifice is often employed by birds to 
conceal, or render the appearance of their nests ambiguous. Thus 
the European Wren forms its nest externally of hay, if against a hay- 
rick ; covered with lichens, if the tree chosen is so clad ; or made of 
green moss, when the decayed trunk in which it is built, is thus cov- 
ered; and then, wholly closing it above, leaves only a concealed en- 
try in the side. Our Humming-bird, by external patches of lichen, 
gives her nest the appearance of a moss grown knot. A similar arti- 
fice is employed by our Yellow Breasted Fly-catcher or Vireo, and 
others. The Golden-Crowned Thrush (Seiurus aurocapillus) makes a 
nest like an oven, erecting an arch over it, so perfectly resembling 
the tussuck in which it is concealed, that it is only discoverable by 
the emotion of the female when startled from its covert. 


12 INTRODUCTION. 


The Butcher-bird is said to draw around him his feathered victims 
by treacherously imitating their notes. The Kingfisher of Europe is 
believed to allure his prey by displaying the brilliancy of his colors, 
as he sits near some sequestered place on the margin of a rivulet; the 
fish, attracted by the splendor of his fluttering and expanded wings, 
are detained, while the wily fisher takes a unerring aim.* The Erne, 
and our Bald Eagle, gain a great part of their subsistence by watching 
the success of the Fish-Hawk, and robbing him of his finny prey as 
soon as itis caught. In the same way also the rapacious Burgo- 
master or Glaucus Gull (Larus glaucus) of the North, levies his tri- 
bute of food from all the smaller species of his race, who knowing his 
strength and ferocity, are seldom inclined to dispute his piratical 
claims. Several species of Cuckoo, and the Cow-Troopial of America, 
habitually deposit their eggs in the nests of other small birds, to 
whose deceived affection are committed the preservation and rearing 
of the parasitic and vagrant brood. The instinctive arts of birds are 
numerous ; but treachery, like that which obtains in these parasitic 
species, is among the rarest expedients of nature in the feathered 
tribes ; though not uncommon among some insect families. 

The art displayed by birds in the construction of their temporary 
habitations, or nests, is also deserving of passing attention. Among 
the Gallinaceous tribe, including our land domestic species, as well 
as the aquatic and wading kinds, scarcely any attempt at a nest is 
made. The birds which swarm along the sea-coast, often deposit 
their eggs on the bare ground, sand, or slight depressions in shelving 
rocks; governed alone by grosser wants, their mutual attachment is 
feeble or nugatory, and neither art nor instinct prompts attention to 
the construction of a nest, the less necessary, indeed, as the young 
run or take to the water as soon as hatched, and early release them- 
selves from parental dependence. The habits of the other aquatic 
birds are not very dissimilar to these ; yet it is singular to remark, 
that while our common geese and ducks, like domestic fowls, have no 
permanent selective attachment for their mates, the Canadian Wild- 
goose, the Eider-duck, and some others, are constantly and faithfully 
paired through the season; so that this neglect of accommodation for 
the young in the fabrication of an artificial nest, common to these 
with the rest of their tribe, has less connexion with the requisition 
of mutual aid, than with the hardy and precocious habits of these un- 


* The bright feathers of this bird enter often successfully, with others, into the 
composition of the most attractive artificial flies enployed by anglers. 


INTRODUCTION. 13 


musical, coarse, and retiring birds. Itis true, that some of them show 
considerable address, if little of art, in providing security for their 
young ; in this way some of the Razor-bills, (including the Common 
Puffin) do not trust the exposure of their eggs, like the Gulls, who 
rather rely on the solitude of their retreat, than art in its defence ; 
but with considerable labor some of the Alcas form a deep burrow 
for the security of their brood. 

Birds of the same genus differ much in their modes of nidification. 
Thus the Martin makes anest within a rough-cast rampart of mud, 
and enters by a flat opening in the upper edge. The Cliff Swallow 
of Bonaparte, conceals its warm and feathered nest in a receptacle of 
agglutinated mud, resembling a narrow-necked purse or retort. 
Another species, in the Indian seas, forms a small receptacle for its 
young entirely of interlaced gelatinous fibres, provided by the mouth 
and stomach ; these nests, stuck in clusters against the rocks, are 
collected by the Chinese, and boiled and eaten in soups as the rarest 
delicacy. The Bank-Martin, like the King-Fisher, burrows deep into 
the friable banks of rivers to secure a depository for its scantily feath- 
ered nest. The Chimney Swallow, originally an inhabitant of hol- 
low trees, builds in empty chimneys a bare nest of agglutinated twigs. 
The Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Titmouse, and our rural Blue-Bird, se- 
cure their young in hollow trees; and the first often gouge and dig 
through the solid wood with the success and industry of carpenters, 
and without the aid of any other chisel than their wedged bills. 

But the most consummate ingenuity of ornithal architecture is dis- 
played by the smaller and more social tribes of birds, who, in propor- 
tion to their natural enemies, foreseen by nature, are provided with 
the means of instinctive defence. In this labor both sexes generally 
unite, and are sometimes occupied a week or more in completing this 
temporary habitation for their young. We can only glance at a few 
examples, chiefly domestic; since to give any thing like a general 
view of this subject of the architecture employed by birds would far 
exceed the narrow limits we prescribe. And here we may remark, 
that, after migration, there is no more certain display of the reveries 
of instinct than what presides over this interesting and necessary la- 
bor of the species. And yet so nice are the gradations betwixt this 
innate propensity and the dawnings of reason, that it is not always 
easy to decide upon the characteristics of one as distinct from the 
other. Pure and undeviating instincts are perhaps wholly confined 
to the invertebral class of animals. 

In respect to the habits of birds, we well know, that, like quadru- 


2 


14 INTRODUCTION. 


peds, they possess, though in a lower degree, the capacity for a certain 
measure of what may be termed education, or the power of adding to 
their stock of invariable habits, the additional traits of an inferior de- 
gree of reason. Thus in those birds who have discovered, (like the 
faithful dog, that humble companion of man,) the advantages to be 
derived from associating round his premises, the regularity of their 
instinctive habits gives way, in a measure, to improvable conceptions. 
In this manner our Golden Robin (Icterus baltimore) or Fiery Hang- 
Bird, originally only a native of the wilderness and the forest, is now 
a constant summer resident in the vicinity of villages and dwellings. 
From the depending boughs of our towering Elms, and other spread- 
ing trees, like the Oriole of Europe, and the Cassican of tropical 
America, he weaves his pendulous and purse-like nest of the most te- 
nacious and durable materials he can collect. These naturally con- 
sist of the Indian hemp, flax of the silk-weed (Asclepias species,) and 
other tough and fibrous substances; but with a ready ingenuity he 
discovers that real flax and hemp, as well as thread, cotton, yarn, and 
even hanks of silk, or small strings, and horse and cow hair, are ex- 
cellent substitutes for his original domestic materials; and in order to 
be convenient to these accidental resources, a matter of some impor- 
tance in so tedious a labor, he has left the wild woods of his ancestry, 
and conscious of the security of his lofty and nearly inaccessible man- 
sion, has taken up his welcome abode in the precincts of our habita- 
tions. The same motives of convenience and comfort have had their 
apparent influence on many more of our almost domestic feathered 
tribes; the Blue-birds, Wrens, and Swallows, original inhabitants of 
the woods, are now no less familiar than our Pigeons. The Cat-bird 
often leaves his native solitary thickets for the convenience and 
refuge of the garden, and watching, occasionally, the motions of the 
tenant, answers to his whistle with complacent mimicry, or in petu- 
lant anger scolds at his intrusion. The Common Robin, who never 
varies his simple and coarse architecture ; tormented by the parasitic 
Cuckoo, or the noisy Jay, who seek at times to rob him of his progeny ; 
for protection, has been known fearlessly to build his nest within a 
few yards of the blacksmith’s anvil, or on the stern timbers of an 
unfinished vessel, where the carpenters were still employed in their 
noisy labors. That sagacity obtains its influence over unvarying 
instinct in these and many other familiar birds, may readily be con- 
ceived, when we observe, that this venturous association with man 
vanishes with the occasion which required it; for no sooner have the 
Oriole and Robin reared their young, than their natural suspicion and 
shyness again return. 


INTRODUCTION. 15 


Deserts and solitudes are avoided by most kinds of birds. In an 
extensive country of unvarying surface, or possessing but little variety 
of natural productions, and particularly where streams and waters are 
scarce, few of the feathered tribes are to be found. The extensive 
prairies of the west, and the gloomy and almost interminable forests 
of the north, as well as the umbrageous, wild, and unpeopled banks 
of the Mississippi, and other of the larger rivers, no less than the vast 
pine barrens of the southern states, are nearly without birds, as per- 
manent residents. In crossing the desolate piny glades of the south, 
with the exception of Creepers, Nuthatches, Wood-peckers, Pine 
Warblers, and flocks of flitting Larks (Stwrnella), scarcely any birds 
are to be seen till we approach the meanders of some stream, or the 
precincts 6fa plantation. The food of birds being extremely various 
they consequently congregate only where sustenance is to be obtain- 
ed; watery situations and a diversified vegetation is necessary for 
their support, and convenient for their residence ; the fruits of the 
garden and orchard, the swarms of insects which follow the progress 
of agriculture, the grain which we cultivate, in short, every thing 
which contributes to our luxuries and wants, in the way of subsist- 
ence, no less than the recondite and tiny enemies, which lessen or 
attack these various resources, all conduce to the support of the 
feathered race, which consequently seek out and frequent our settle- 
ments, as humble and useful dependents. 

The most ingenious and labored nest of all the North American 
birds, 1s that of the Orchard Oriole or Troopial. It is suspended or 
pensile, like that of the Baltimore Bird, but, with the exception of 
hair, constantly constructed of native materials, the principal of which 
is a kind of tough grass. The blades are formed into a sort of platted 
purse, but little inferior toa coarse straw bonnet; the artificial labor 
bestowed is so apparent, that Wilson humorously adds, on his showing 
it to a matron of his acquaintance, betwixt joke and earnest, she 
asked, “if he thought it could not be taught to darn stockings.” 
Every one has heard of the Tailor Bird of India (Sylvia sutoria) ;* 
this little architect, by way of saving labor, and gaining security for 
its tiny fabric, sometimes actually, as a seamstress, sows together the 
edges of two leaves of a tree, in which her nest, at the extremity of 
the branch, is then secured for the period of incubation. Among the 
Sylvias or Warblers, there is a species inhabiting Florida and the West 
Indies, the Sylvia pensilis, which forms its woven, covered nest to 


* For the curious nest of this bird, see the vignette on page 29, 


16 INTRODUCTION. 


rock in the air at the end of two suspending strings, rather than trust 
it to the wily enemies by which it is surrounded ; the entrance, for 
security, is also from below, and through a winding vestibule. 

Our little cheerful, and almost domestic Wren (Troglodytes fulvus), 
which so often disputes with the Martin and the Blue-bird the pos- 
session of the box, set up for their accommodation in the garden or 
near the house, in his native resort of a hollow tree, or the shed of 
some neglected out-house, begins his fabric by forming a barricade of 
crooked interlacing twigs, a kind of chevaux-de-frise, for the defence 
of his internal habitation, leaving merely a very small entrance at the 
upper edge. The industry of this little bird, and his affection for his 
mate, are somewhat remarkable, as he frequently completes his hab- 
itation without aid, and then searches out a female on whom to be- 
stow it; but not being always successful, or the premises not satisfacto- 
ry to his mistress, his labor remains sometimes without reward, and he 
continues to warble out his lay in solitude. The same gallant habit pre- 
vails also with our recluse Wren of the marshes. Wilson’s Marsh 
Wren (Troglodytes palustris), instead of courting the advantages of a 
proximity to our dwellings, lives wholly among the reed fens, sus- 
pending his mud-plastered and circularly covered nest usually to the 
stalks of the plant he so much affects. Another marsh species inhab- 
its the low and swampy meadows of our vicinity, (Troglodytes *brevi 
rostris), and, with ready address, constructs its globular nest wholly 
of the intertwined sedge-grass of the tussuck on which it is built ; 
these two species never leave their subaquatic retreats but for the 
purpose of distant migration, and avoid and deprecate in angry twit- 
terings every sort of society but their own. 

Among the most extraordinary habitations of birds, illustrative of 
their instinctive invention, may be mentioned that of the Bengal 
Grosbeak, whose pensile nest, suspended from the lofty boughs of the 
Indian fig-tree, is fabricated of grass, like cloth, in the form of a large 
bottle, with the entrance downwards ; it consists also of two or three 
chambers, supposed to be occasionally illuminated by the fire-flies, 
which, however, only constitute a part of the food it probably conveys 
for the support of its young. But the most extraordinary instinct of 
this kind known, is exhibited by the Sociable or Republican Gros- 
beak (Ploceus socius, Cuvier) of the Cape of Good Hope. In one 
tree, according to Mr. Paterson, there could not be fewer than from 809 
to 1000 of these nests, covered by one general roof, resembling that of 
a thatched house, and projecting over the entrance of the nest. Their 
common industry almost resembles that of bees. Beneath this roof 


INTRODUCTION. . 17 


there are many entrances, each of which forms, as it were, a regular 
street with nests on either side, about two inches distant from each 
other. The material which they employ in this building, is a kind of 
fine grass, whose seed, also, at the same time, serves them for food. 
That birds, besides their predilection for the resorts of men, are also 
capable of appreciating consequences to themselves and young, 
scarcely admits the shadow of a doubt; they are capable of communi- 
eating their fears, and nicely calculating the probability of danger, or 
the immunities of favor. We talk of the cunning of the Fox,and the 
watchfulness of the Weasel; but the Eagle, Hawk, Raven, Crow, 
Pye, and Blackbird, possess those traits of shrewdness and caution, 
which would seem to arise from reflection and prudence. They well 
know the powerful weapons and wiles of civilized man. Without 
being able to smell powder, a vulgar idea, the Crow and Blackbird at 
once suspect the character of the fatal gun; they will alight on the 
backs of cattle without any show of apprehension, and the Pye even 
hops upon them with insulting and garrulous playfulness; but he 
flies instantly from his human enemy, and seems, by his deprecating 
airs, aware of the proscription that affects his existence. A man on 
horseback, or in a carriage, is much less an object of suspicion to 
those wily birds, than when alone ; and J have been frequently both 
amused and surprised, in the Southern States, by the sagacity of the 
Common Blackbirds,* in starting from the ploughing field, with looks 
of alarm, at the sight of a white man, as distinct from and more dan- 
gerous than the black slave, whose furrow they closely and familiarly 
followed, for the insect-food it afforded them, without betraying any 
appearance of distrust. Need we any further proof of the capacity 
for change of disposition, than that which has so long operated upon 
our domestic poultry, “ those victims,” as Buffon slightingly remarks, 
“which are multiplied without trouble, and sacrificed without regret.”’ 
How different the habits of our Goose and Duck in their wild and 
tame condition. Instead of that excessive and timid cautiousness, so 
peculiar to their savage nature, they keep company with the domestic 
cattle, and hardly shuffle out of our path; nay, the Gander is a very 
ban-dog; noisy, gabbling, and vociferous, he gives notice of the 
stranger's approach, is often the terror of the meddling school-boy, in 
defence of his fostered brood ; and it is reported of antiquity, that by 
their usual garrulity and watchfulness, they once saved the Roman 


* Quiscalus versicolor. 
Ox 


o~ 


18 INTRODUCTION. 


capitol. Not only is the disposition of these birds changed by domes- 
tication, but even their strong instinct to migration, or wandering 
longings, are wholly annihilated. Instead of joining the airy phalanx 
which wing their way to distant regions, they grovel contented in the 
perpetual abundance attendant on their willing slavery. If instinct 
can thus be destroyed or merged in artificial cireumstances, need we 
wonder that this protecting and innate intelligence is capable also of 
another change by improvement, adapted to new habits and unnatu- 
ral restraints. Even without undergoing the slavery of domestica- 
tion, many birds become fully sensible of immunities and protection ; 
and in the same aquatic and rude family of birds, already mentioned, 
we may quote the tame habits of the Eider Ducks. In Iceland, and 
other countries, where they breed in such numbers, as to render 
their valuable down an object of commerce, they are forbidden to be 
killed under legal penalty, and, as if aware of this legislative security, 
they sit on their eggs undisturbed at the approach of man, and are 
entirely as familiar, during this season of breeding, as our tamed 
Ducks; nor are they apparently aware of the cheat habitually prac- 
tised upon them of abstracting the down with which they line their 
nests, though it is usually repeated until they make the third attempt 
at incubation. If, however, the last nest, with its eggs and down, to 
the lining of which the male is now obliged to contribute, be taken 
away, they sagaciously leave the premises without return. The pious 
Storks,in Holland, protected by law for their usefulness, build their 
nests on the tops of houses and churches, often in the midst of cities, 
in boxes prepared for them, like those for our Martins ; and, walking 
about the streets and gardens, without apprehension of danger, per- 
form the usual office of domestic scavengers. 

That birds, like our more sedentary and domestic quadrupeds, are 
capable of exhibiting attachment to those who feed and attend them, 
is undeniable. Deprived of other society, some of our more intelli- 
gent species, particularly the Thrushes, soon learn to seek out the 
company of their friends or protectors of the human species. The 
Brown Thrush and Mocking-bird become in this way, extremely fa- 
miliar, cheerful, and capriciously playful; the former, in particular, 
courts the attention of his master, follows his steps, complains when 
neglected, flies to him when suffered to be at large, and sings and re- 
poses gratefully perched on his hand; in short, by all his actions he 
appears capable of real and affectionate attachment; and is jealous of 
every rival, particularly any other bird, which he persecutes from 
his presence with unceasing hatred. Iiis petulant dislike to particu- 


INTRODUCTION. 19 


lar objects of less moment is also displayed by various tones and ges- 
tures, which soon become sufficiently intelligible to those who are 
near him, as well as his notes of gratulation and satisfaction. His lan- 
guage of fear and surprise could never be mistaken, and an imitation 
of his guttural low tsherr tsherr, on these occasions, answers as a pre- 
monitory warning when any danger awaits him, from the sly ap- 
proach of cat or squirrel. As I have now descended, as I may say, 
to the actual biography of one of these birds, which [ raised and kept 
uncaged for some time, I may also add, that besides a playful turn 
for mischief and interruption, in which he would sometimes snatch 
off the paper on which I was writing, he had a good degree of curi- 
osity, and was much surprised one day by a large springing beetle or 
Elater (£. ocellatus), which I had caught and placed in a tumbler. 
On all such occasions, his looks of capricious surprise were very 
amusing ; he cautiously approached the glass with fanning and clos- 
ing wings, and in an under tone confessed his surprise at the address 
and jumping motion of the huge insect. At length he became bold- 
er, and perceiving it had a relation to his ordinary prey of beetles, he, 
with some hesitation, ventured to snatch at the prisoner between te- 
merity and playfulness. But when really alarmed or offended, he in- 
stantly flew to his loftiest perch, forbid all friendly approaches, and 
for some time kept up his low and angry tsherr. My late friend, 
the venerable William Bartram, was also much amused by the intel- 
ligence displayed by this bird, and relates, that, one which he kept, 
being fond of hard bread crumbs, found, when they grated his throat, 
a very rational remedy in softening them, by soaking in his vessel of 
water; he likewise, by experience, discovered that the painful prick 
of the wasps on which he fed, could be obviated by extracting their 
stings. But it would be too tedious and minute to follow out these 
glimmerings of intelligence, which exist as well in birds as in our 
most sagacious quadrupeds. The remarkable talent of the Parrot for 
imitating the tones of the human voice has long been familiar. The 
most extraordinary and well authenticated account of the actions of 
one of the common Ash-colored species, is that of a bird which Co- 
lone] O'Kelly bought for a hundred guineas at Bristol. This individ- 
ual not only repeated a great number of sentences but answered many 
questions, and was able to whistle a variety of tunes. While thus 
engaged, it beat time with all the appearance of science ; and pos- 
sessed a judgment, or ear so accurate, that, if by chance it mistook a 
note, it would revert to the bar where the mistake was made, correct 
itself, and still beating regular time, go again through the whole 


20 INTRODUCTION, 


with perfect exactness. So celebrated was this surprising bird, that 
an obituary notice of its death appeared in the General Evening Post 
for the 9th of October, 1802. In this account it is added, that besides 
her great musical faculties, she could express her wants articulately, 
and give her orders ina manner approaching to rationality. She 
was, at the time of her decease, supposed to be more than thirty 
years of age. The Colonel was repeatedly offered five hundred 
guineas a year for the bird, by persons who wished to make a public 
exhibition of her; but out of tenderness to his favorite, he constantly 
refused the offer. 

The story related by Goldsmith of a parrot belonging to King 
Henry the Seventh, is very amusing, and possibly true. It was kept 
in aroom in the Palace of Westminster, overlooking the Thames, 
and had naturally enough learnt a store of boatmen’s phrases ; one 
day sporting somewhat incautiously, Poll fell into the river, but had 
rationality enough, it appears, to make a profitable use of the words 
she had learnt, and accordingly veciferated, ‘‘ 4 boat! twenty pounds 
for a boat!’ This welcome sound reaching the ears of a waterman, 
soon brought assistance to the parrot, who delivered it to the king, 
with a request to be paid the round sum so readily promised by the 
bird; but his majesty, dissatisfied with the exorbitant demand, agreed, 
at any rate, to give him what the bird should now award ; in answer 
to which reference, Poll shrewdly cried, ‘ Give the knave a groat !” 

Thestory given by Locke, in his ‘“ Essay on the Human Under- 
standing,’ though approaching closely to rationality, and apparently 
improbable, may not be a greater effort than could have been accom- 
plished by Colonel O’Kelly’s bird. This Parrot had attracted the at- 
tention of Prince Maurice, then governor of Brazil, who had a curios- 
ity to witness its powers. The bird was introduced into the room, 
where sat the prince in company with several Dutchmen. On view- 
ing them, the Parrot exclaimed, in Portugese, ‘“* What a company of 
white men are here!” Pointing to the prince, they asked, ‘‘ Who is 
that man?” to which the Parrot replies, ‘‘Some general or other.” 
The prince now asked, “From what place do you come?” The 
answer was, “From Marignan.” ‘To whom do you belong?” it 
answered, ‘‘ To a Portuguese.” “ What do you do there ?”” to which 
the Parrot replied, “ I look after chickens !’’ The prince, now laugh- 
ing, exclaimed, “* You look after chickens!’ To which Poll perti- 
nently answered, ‘‘ Yes, J ;—and I know well enough how to do it ;” 
clucking at the same instant in the manner ofa calling brood-hen. 

The docility of birds in catching and expressing sounds depends, 


INTRODUCTION. 21 


of course, upon the perfection of their voice and hearing; assisted 
also by no inconsiderable power of memory. The imitative actions 
and passiveness of some small birds, such as Goldfinches, Linnets, 
and Canaries, are, however, quite as curious as their expression of 
sounds. A Sieur Roman exhibited in England some of these birds, 
one of which simulated death, and was held up by the tail or claw 
without showing any active signs of life. A second balanced itself 
on the head, with its claws in the air. A third imitated a milkmaid 
going to market, with pails on its shoulders. A fourth mimicked a 
Venetian girl looking out at a window. A fifth acted the soldier, and 
mounted guard as a sentinel. The sixth was a cannonier, with a cap 
on its head, a firelock on its shoulder, and with a match in its claw 
discharged a small cannon. The same bird also acted as if wounded, 
was wheeled in a little barrow, as it were to the hospital ; after which 
it flew away before the company. The seventh turned a kind of wind- 
mill; and the last bird stood amidst a discharge of small fireworks, 
without showing any sign of fear. 

A similar exhibition, in which twenty-four Canary birds were the 
actors, was also shown in London in 1820, by a Frenchman named 
Dujon; one of these suffered itself to be shot at, and, falling down, as 
if dead, was put into a little wheelbarrow, and conveyed away by one 
of its comrades. 

The docility of the Canary and Goldfinch is thus, by dint of severe 
education, put in fair competition with that of the Dog; and we can- 
not deny to the feathered creation a share of that kind of rational in- 
telligence, exhibited by some of our sagacious quadrupeds, an incip- 
ient knowledge of cause and effect far removed from the unimproy- 
able and unchangeable destinies of instinct. Nature, probably, delights 
less in producing such animated machines than we are apt to suppose ; 
and amidst the mutability of circumstances by which almost every 
animated beirg is surrounded, there seems to be a frequent demand 
for that relieving invention, denied to those animals which are solely 
governed by inflexible instinct. 

The velocity with which birds are able to iravel in their aérial 
element, has no parallel among terrestrial animals ; and this powerful 
capacity for progressive motion, is bestowed in aid of their peculiar 
wants and instinctive habits. The swiftest horse may perhaps pro- 
ceed a mile in something less than two minutes, but such exertion is 
unnatural, and quickly fatal. An Eagle, whose stretch of wing ex- 
ceeds seven feet, with ease and majesty, and without any extraordi- 
nary effort, rises out of sight in less than three minutes, and therefore 


22 INTRODUCTION. 


must fly more than 3,500 yards in a minute, or at the rate of sixty 
miles in an hour. At this speeda bird would easily perform a journey 
of 600 miles in a day, since ten hours only would be required, which 
would allow frequent halts, and the whole of the night for repose. 
Swallows, and other migratory birds, might therefore pass from 
Northern Europe to the Equator in seven or eight days. In fact, 
Adanson saw, on the coast of Senegal, swallows that had arrived 
there on the Sth of October, or eight or nine days after their de- 
parture from the colder continent. A Canary Falcon, sent to the 
Duke of Lerma, returned in sixteen hours from Andalusia to the 
island of Teneriffe, a distance of 750 miles. The Gulls of Barbadoes, 
according to Sir Hans Sloane, make excursions in flocks to the dis- 
tance of more than 200 miles after their food, and then return the 
same day to their rocky roosts. 

If we allow that any natural powers come in aid of the instinct to 
migration, so powerful and uniform in birds, besides their vast ca- 
pacity for motion, it must be in the perfection and delicacy of their 
vision, of which we have such striking examples in the rapacious 
tribes. It is possible, that at times, they may be directed principally 
by atmospheric phenomena alone ; and hence we find that their ap- 
pearance is frequently a concomitant of the approaching season, and 
the wild Petrel of the ocean is not the only harbinger of storm and 
coming change. The currents of the air, in those which make exten- 
sive voyages, are sedulously employed; and hence, at certain sea- 
sons, when they are usually in motion, we find their arrival or depart- 
ure accelerated by a favorable direction of the winds. That birds 
also should be able to derive advantage in their journeys from the 
acuteness of their vision, is not more wonderful, than the capacity of 
a dog to discover the path of his master, for many miles in succession, 
by the mere scent of his steps. It is said, indeed, in corroboration of 
this conjecture, that the Passenger or Carrying Pigeon, is not certain 
to return tothe place from whence it is brought, unless it be conveyed 
in an open wicker basket, admitting a view of the passing scenery. 
Many of our birds, however, follow instinctively the great valleys and 
river courses, which tend towards their southern or warmer destina- 
tion; thus the great valleys of the Connecticut, the Hudson, the Del- 
aware, the Susquehannah, the Santee, and more particularly the vast 
Mississippi, are often, in part, the leading routes of our migrating 
birds. But, in fact, mysterious as is the voyage and departure of our 
birds, like those of all other countries where they remove at all, the 
destination of many is rendered certain, as soon as we visit the south. 


INTRODUCTION. 23 


ern parts of the Union, or the adjoining countries of Mexico, to which 
they have retired for the winter; for now, where they were nearly or 
wholly unknown in summer,they throng by thousands, and flit before 
our path like the showering leaves ofautumn. It is curious to observe 
the pertinacity of this adventurous instinct in those, more truly and ex- 
clusively insectiverous species, which wholly leave us for the mild 
and genial regions of the tropics. Many penetrate to their destina- 
tion through Mexico over land; to these the whole journey is merely 
an amusing and varied feast; but toa much smaller number, who 
keep too far toward the sea-coast, and enter the ocean-bound penin- 
sula of Florida, a more arduous aérial voyage is presented; the wide 
ocean must be crossed, by the young and inexperienced, as well as 
the old and venturous, before they arrive either at the tropical conti- 
nent, or its scattered islands. When the wind proves propitious, how- 
ever, our little voyagers wing their unerring way like prosperous 
fairies ; but, baffled by storms and contrary gales, they often suffer 
from want, and at times, like the Quails, become victims to the de- 
vouring waves. On such unfortunate occasions, (as Mr. Bullock* 
witnessed in a voyage near to Vera Cruz late in autumn,) the famish- 
ed travellers familiarly crowd the decks of the vessel, in the hope of 
obtaining rest and ascanty meal, preparatory to the conclusion of 
their unpropitious flight. 

Superficial observers, substituting their own ideas for facts, are 
ready to conclude, and frequently assert, that the old and young, be- 
fore leaving, assemble together for mutual departure; this may be 
true, in many instances, but in as many more a different arrangement 
obtains. The young, often instinctively vagrant, herd together in 
separate flocks previous to their departure, and guided alone by the 
innate monition of nature,seek neither the aid nor the company of 
the old ; consequently in some countries flocks of young of particular 
species are alone observed, and in others, far distant, we recognise the 
old. From parental aid, the juvenile company have obtained all that 
nature intended to bestow, existence and education; and they are 
now thrown upon the world among their numerous companions, with 
no other necessary guide than self-preserving instinct. In Europe it 
appears that these bands of the young always affect even a warmer 
climate than the old; the aération of their blood not being yet com- 
plete, they are more sensible to the rigors of cold. The season of the 


* Travels in Mexico. 


Q4 INTRODUCTION. 


year has also its effect on the movements of birds; thus certain 
species proceed to their northern destination more to the east- 
ward in the spring; and return from it to the south-westward in 
autumn. 

The habitudes and extent of the migrations of birds admit of con- 
siderable variety. Some only fly before the inundating storms of 
winter, and return with the first dawn of spring; these do not leave 
the continent, and only migrate in quest of food, when it actually be- 
gins to fail. Among these may be named our common Song Spar- 
row, Chipping Sparrow, Blue-bird, Robin, Pewee, Cedar-bird, Black- 
bird, Meadow Lark, and many more. Others pass into warmer cli- 
mates in the autumn, after rearing their young. Some are so given 
to wandering, that their choice of a country is only regulated by the 
resources which it offers for subsistence; such are the Pigeons, 
Herons of several kinds, Snipes, Wild Geese and Ducks, the wander- 
ing Albatros, and Waxen Chatterer. 

The greater number of birds travelin the night; some species, how- 
ever, proceed only by day, as the diurnal birds of prey, Crows, Pies, 
Wrens, Creepers, Cross-bills, Larks, Blue-birds, Swallows, and some 
others. Those which travel wholly in the night are the Owls, Butch- 
er-birds, Kingfishers, Thrushes, Flycatchers, Night-Hawks, Whip- 
poor-wills, and also a great number of aquatic birds, whose motions 
are also principally nocturnal, except in the cold and desolate northern 
regions, where they usually retire to breed. Other birds are so pow- 
erfully impelled by this governing motive to migration, that they 
stop neither day nor night; such are the Herons, Motacillas, Plovers, 
Swans, Cranes, Wild Geese, Storks, &c. When untoward circum- 
stances render haste necessary, certain kinds of birds, which ordinarily 
travel only in the night, continue their route during the day, and 
scarcely allow themselves time to eat: yet the singing birds, proper- 
ly so called, never migrate by day, whatever may happen to them. 
And it may here be inquired, with astonishment, how these feeble 
but enthusiastic animals are able to pass the time, thus engaged, with- 
out the aid of recruiting sleep? But so powerful is this necessity for 
travel, that its incentive breaks out equally in those which are detain- 
ed in captivity ; so much so, that although, during the day, they are 
no more alert than usual, and only occupied in taking nourishment, 
at the approach of night, far from seeking repose, as usual, they man- 
ifest great agitation, sing without ceasing in the cage, whether the 
apartment is lighted or not; and when the moon shines, they appear 
still more restless, as it is their custom, at liberty, to seek the advan- 


INTRODUCTION. 95 


tage of its light, for facilitating their route. Some birds, while en- 
gaged in their journey, still find means to live without halting; the 
Swallow, while traversing the sea, pursues its insect prey; those 
who can subsist on fish, without any serious effort, feed as they pass 
or graze the surface of the deep. Ifthe Wren, the Creeper, and the 
Titmouse rest for an instant on a tree to snatch a hasty morsel, in the 
next they are on the wing, to fulfil their destination. However abun- 
dant may be the nourishment which presents itself to supply their 
wants, in general, birds of passage rarely remain more than two days 
together in a place. 

The cries of many birds, while engaged in their aérial voyage, are 
such as are only heard on this important occasion, and appear neces- 
sary for the direction of those which fly in assembled ranks. 

During these migrations, it has been observed, that birds fly ordi- 
narily in the higher regions of the air, except when fogs force them to 
seek a lower elevation. This habit is particularly prevalent with 
Wild Geese, Storks, Cranes, and Herons, which often pass at such a 
height as to be scarcely distinguishable. 

We shall not here enter into any detailed description of the manner 
in which each species conducts its migration; but shall content our- 
selves with citing the single remarkable example of the motions of 
the Cranes. Of all migrating birds, these appear to be endowed with 
the greatest share of foresight. They never undertake the journey 
alone: throughout a circle of several miles, they appear to communi- 
cate the intention of commencing their route. Several days previous 
to their departure, they call upon each other by a peculiar ery, as if 
giving warning to assemble at a central point; the favorable moment 
being at length arrived, they betake themselves to flight, and, in mil- 
itary style, fall into two lines, which, uniting at the summit, form an 
extended angle with two equal sides. At the central point of the 
phalanx, the chief takes his station, to whom the whole troop, by 
their subordination, appear to have pledged their obedience. The 
commander has not only the painful task of breaking the path through 
the air, but he has also the charge of watching for the common 
safety ; to avoid the attacks of birds of prey ; to range the two lines 
in a circle, at the approach of a tempest, in order to resist with more 
effect the squalls which menace the dispersion of the linear ranks; 
and, lastly, it is to their leader that the fatigued company look up to 
appoint the most convenient places for nourishment and repose. 
Still, important as is the station and function of the atrial director, 
its existence is but momentary. As soon as he feels sensible of fa- 


3 


26 INTRODUCTION. 


tigue, he cedes his place to the next in the file, and retires himself to 
its extremity. During the night, their flight is attended with con- 
siderable noise ; the loud cries which we hear, seem to be the march- 
ing orders of the chief, answered by the ranks who follow his com- 
mands. Wild Geese, and several kinds of Ducks, also make their 
aérial voyage nearly in the same manner as the Cranes. The loud 
call of the passing Geese, as they soar securely through the higher 
regions of the air, is familiar to all; but as an additional proof of 
their sagacity and caution, we may remark, that when fogs in the 
atmosphere render their flight necessarily low, they steal along in 
silence, as if aware of the danger to which their lower path now ex- 
poses them. 

The direction of the winds is of great importance to the migration 
of birds, not only as an assistance when favorable, but to be avoided 
when contrary, as the most disastrous of accidents, when they are 
traversing the ocean. If the breeze suddenly change, the aérial 
voyagers tack to meet it, and diverging from their original course, 
seek the asylum of some land or island, as is the case very frequently 
with the Quails, who consequently, in their passage across the 
Mediterranean, at variable times, make a descent in immense num- 
bers on the islands of the Archipelago, where they wait, sometimes 
for weeks, the arrival of a propitious gale to terminate their journey. 
And hence we perceive the object of migrating birds, when they 
alight upon a vessel at sea; it has fallen in their course while seeking 
refuge from a baffling breeze, or overwhelming storm, and after a few 
hours of rest, they wing their way to their previous destination. 
That nature has provided ample means to fulfil the wonderful instinct 
of these feeble but cautious wanderers, appears in every part of their 
economy. As the period approaches for their general departure, and 
the chills of autumn are felt, their bodies begin to be loaded with 
cellular matter, and at no season of the year are the true birds of 
passage so fat as at the approach of their migration. The Gulls, 
Cranes, and Herons, almost proverbially macilent, are at this season 
loaded with this reservoir of nutriment, which is intended to admin- 
ister to their support through their arduous and hazardous voyage. 
With this natural provision, dormant animals also commence their 
long and dreary sleep through the winter; a nutritious resource, no 
less necessary in birds while engaged in fulfillimg the powerful and 
waking reveries of instinct. 

But if the act of migration surprise us when performed by birds of 
active power of wing, it is still more remarkable when undertaken by 


INTRODUCTION. Q7 


those of short and laborious flight, like the Coots and Rails, who, in 
fact, perform a part of their route on foot. The Great Penguin (4lca 
impennis), the Guillemot, and the Divers,even make their voyage 
chiefly by dint of swimming. The young Loons (Colymbus glacialis), 
bred in inland ponds, though proverbially lame (and hence the name 
of Lom or Loon), without recourse to their wings, which are at this 
time inefficient, continue their route from pond to pond, floundering 
over the intervening land by night, until at length they gain some 
creek of the sea, and finally complete their necessary migration by 
water. 

Birds of passage, both in the old and new continents, are observed 
generally to migrate south-west in autumn, and to pass to the north- 
east in spring. Parry, however, it seems, observed the birds of 
Greenland proceed to the south-east. This apparent aberration from 
the usual course, may be accounted for by considering the habits of 
these aquatic birds. Intent on food and shelter, a part, bending their 
course over the cold regions of Norway and Russia, seek the shores 
of Europe; while another division, equally considerable, proceeding 
south-west, spread themselves over the interior of the United States 
and the coast and kingdom of Mexico. 

This propensity to change their climate, induced by whatever 
cause, is not confined to the birds of temperate regions; it likewise 
exists among many of those who inhabit the tropics. Aquatic birds, 
of several kinds, according to Humboldt, cross the line on either side 
about the time of the periodical rise of the rivers. Waterton, like- 
wise, who spent much time in Demerara and the neighboring coun- 
tries, observed, that the visits of many of the tropical birds were 
periodical. Thus the wonderful Campanero,* whose solemn voice is 
heard, at intervals, tolling like the convent bell, was rare to Waterton, 
but frequent in Brazil, where they most probably retire to breed. The 
failure of particular food at any season, in the mildest climate, would 
be a sufficient incentive to a partial and overland migration with any 
species of the feathered race. 

The longevity of birds is various, and, different from the case of man 
and quadrupeds, seems to bear but little proportion to the age at which 
they acquire maturity of character. A few months seems sufficient to 
bring the bird into full possession of all its native powers ; and there 
are some,as our Marsh Titmouse or Chicadee, which, in fact, as 
soon as fledged, are no longer to be distinguished from their parents. 


* Casmarhynchos carunculeta. 


28 INTRODUCTION. 


Land animals generally live six or seven times as long as the period 
required to attain maturity ; but in birds the rate is ten times greater. 
In proportion to their size, they are also far more vivacious and 
long-lived, than other animals of the superior class. Our know- 
ledge of the longevity of birds is, however, necessarily limited to 
the few examples of domesticated species, which we have been able 
to support through life; the result of these examples is, that our 
domestic fowls have lived twenty years; Pigeons have exceeded 
that period; Parrots have attained more than thirty years. Geese 
live probably more than half a century ; a Pelican has lived to eighty 
years; and Swans, Ravens, and Eagles have exceeded a century : 
even Linnets, in the unnatural restraints of the cage, have survived 
for fourteen or fifteen years, and Canaries twenty-five. To account 
for this remarkable tenacity of life, nothing very satisfactory has 
been offered; though Buffon is of opinion, that the soft and porous 
nature of their bones contributes to this end, as the general ossifica- 
tion and rigidity of the system perpetually tends to abridge the 
boundaries of life. 

In a general way it may be considered as essential for the bird to 
fly, as it is for the fish to swim, or the quadruped to walk; yet in 
all these tribes there are exceptions to the general habits. Thus 
among quadrupeds, the Bats fly; the Seals, and other animals of 
that description, swim; and the Beaver and Otter, with an inter- 
mediate locomotive power, swim better than they can walk. So 
also among birds, the Ostrich, Cassowary, Dodo, and some others, 
incapable of flying, are obliged to walk; others, as the Penguins, 
Dippers, and Razor-bills, fly and swim, but never walk. Some, in 
fine, like the Birds of Paradise, Swallows, and Humming-birds, can 
neither walk nor swim, but pass their time chiefly on the wing. 
A far greater number of birds live on the water than of quadrupeds, 
for of the latter there are not more than five or six kinds furnished 
with webbed or oar-like feet; whereas of birds with this structure 
there are several hundred. The lightness of their feathers and 
bones, as well as the boat-like form of their bodies, contributes 
greatly to facilitate their buoyancy and progress in the water, and 
their feet serve as oars to propel them. 

Thus in whatever way we view the feathered tribes which surround 
us, we shall find much both to amuse and instruct. We hearken to 
their songs with renewed delight, as the harbingers and associates 
of the season they accompany. Their return, after a long absence, 
is hailed with gratitude to the Author of all existence; and the 


INTRODUCTION, 29 


cheerless solitude of inanimate nature is, by their presence, attuned 
to life and harmony. Nor do they alone administer to the amuse- 
ment and Juxury of life; faithful aids as well as messengers of the 
seasons, they associate round our tenements, and defend the various 
productions of the earth, on which we so much rely for subsistence, 
from the destructive depredations of myriads of insects, which, but 
for timely riddance by unnumbered birds, would be followed by a 
general failure and famine. Public economy and utility, then, 
no less than humanity, plead for the protection of the feathered 
race ; and the wanton destruction of birds, so useful, beautiful, and 
amusing, if not treated as such by law, ought to be considered as a 
crime by every moral, feeling, and reflecting mind. 


Nest of the Tailor-Bird. 


3* 


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BARDS, OF PR ELY.. 


Rapacious birds seem to occupy among the feathered 
race, the same situation as the carnivorous order among 
the quadrupeds. All obtain their subsistence from the 
animal kingdom, and most of them live essentially on 
flesh. Some, dastardly and indolent by nature, as well 
as unprovided with the means of seizing prey, live on 
carrion and garbage, and act the useful part of scaven- 
gers in ridding the earth of such offensive matters. Oth- 
ers boldly or insidiously attack living animals, quadru- 
peds or birds. Some again there are, that subsist almost 
wholly on fish and reptiles; and a few of small size are 
contented with crustaceous winged insects. Less attach- 
ed to the earth than other birds, they traverse the aérial 
regions with a rapid flight, and often disappear from 
view in the ambient space from whence, ever watchful 
and keen of sight, they survey the wide landscape and 
mark out their distant quarry. Some peculiarities of their 
skeleton are in accordance with the power of their 
wings; thus the sternum is broad and completely ossified 
in order to give more extensive insertion’ to the muscles. 
The fourchette also, semicircular and widely separated, 
serves effectually to resist the violent motions of the hu- 
merus in the act of rapid flying. Endowed with such 
powerful means of flight, and natural weapons of destruc- 
tion, they are justly the terror of all other birds. Wan- 


32 BIRDS OF PREY. 


derers and vagabonds, they live in solitude, or only asso- 
ciate by pairs. Their parental feeling, indeed, com- 
monly vanishes with the growth of their offspring; the 
young are driven forth with violence, and sometimes 
even savagely destroyed by these, their fierce, though 
natural protectors. Nature, apparently willing to dimin- 
ish or abridge the number of such cruel animals, has 
limited their annual progeny to a single brood, and their 
eggs, sometimes 2, never exceed the number of 4. 
For this purpose their nests are hidden in the clefts of 
inaccessible rocks, or fixed in the summits of the tallest 
trees; and in the nocturnal kinds, in hollow trunks, or 
the ruins of desolate buildings which their discordant 
cries fill with sounds of horror; the diurnal, also in- 
quiet, gloomy, and suspicious, utter often loud, squealing 
plaints, or, in the larger kinds, almost wolfish barkings, 
sounds consonant with their insatiable and sanguinary ap- 
petites: indeed, when their victims are sufficiently abun- 
dant, their sole drink is often blood, and like the votary 
of intemperance, water, to quench their thirst, is only a 
last resort. The more powerful birds of this order see 
with proverbial perfection in the day, and like most oth- 
ers have the eyes directed sideways. The nocturnal 
tribe pass away this period in sleep and indolence, only 
perceiving their prey distinctly in the twilight, and in 
these the eyes are placed in front. The structure of 
their digestive organs indicates the stern necessity of this 
life of rapine. Their prey is either torn to pieces or 
swallowed whole; in either case the hair, bones and 
feathers, indigestible to them, are successively ejected 
from the stomach, by the mouth, in small balls or pellets. 
They eat largely when occasion offers, and can also fast 
for several days. In all this tribe the female is larger 
than the male, and this disparity sometimes amounts to a 


VULTURES. oe 


third; she alone hatches the brood, and probably, finds 
the occasional necessity of defending them from her un- 
feeling mate. 

This order of birds are well distinguished by their short, 
robust bill, compressed at its sides, and curved towards 
its extremity; the upper mandible is also covered at its 
base by a particular coating called the cere. The nos- 
trils are open. The feet strong, short, or of middling 
length, feathered to the knees, or sometimes down to the 
toes. The toes are three before, and one behind, all 
equally touching the ground, and wholly divided, or 
united at the base by a membrane; the sole is rough, to 
assist in holding the animals on which they feed, and 
more remarkably so in those which live on fish, and re- 
quire this additional aid to retain their slippery prey. 
The toes are armed with powerful, sharp, retractile, and 
curved nails. 


VULTURES. 


THESE are ignoble, cowardly, and gregarious birds, generally con- 
fined to mild or warm climates, where, feeding on unburied carcases 
and filth, they render an important service to man, and in the South- 
ern parts of the United States they are consequently protected from 
destruction by law. They sometimes also prey upon small living 
animals, reptiles, and the eggs of birds. They are exceedingly indo- 
lent, and in their mean and disgusting figure, slovenly attitude, 
fetid scent, and heavy gait, they are strikingly distinguished from 
those birds of rapine which give a preference to living animals, and 
seize their prey by stratagem or strength. In the conformation of 
their feet and claws, they are destitute of that powerful armature 
which is peculiar to the other rapacious birds; they are unable to 
make use of these members either in attacking or conveying their 
prey, which must consequently be consumed on the spot. Their 
head and neck wholly naked, or partially clothed with a woolly 
down, is small compared with the size of the body, and the lat- 
ter is frequently long and slender. Although their flight is slow, 


3d4 BIRDS OF PREY. 


they can elevate themselves to a prodigious height, ascending and 
descending in wide spiral circles. Their sight like that of the 
Hawks and Eagles, is keen; and the organ of scent was impro- 
perly supposed to be very perfect. They nest often amidst inaccessi- 
ble rocks, or in solitary places, laying but two eggs, and bear in their 
ample craw nourishment for their young, which they disgorge before 
them. They moult once in the year: and difference of size alone 
distinguishes the sexes in appearance. 

None of the Vultures, properly so called, exist out of the ancient 
continent; but the genus Cathartes, which comprehends our Vul- 
tures, admits of geographical and natural sections, the transatlantic 
species being still separable from those of America. 


1. CATHARTES. 


In this genus the BILL is long and straight, merely curved towards 
the point ; the cere is naked and extending beyond the middle of 
the beak; the Nostrits oval, naked and pervious ; and situated 
about the centre of the bill: the tongue channeled, with the edges 
serrated. — Head elongated flattened, and wrinkled. The tarsus 
or leg rather slender and naked; the side toes equal, the mid- 
dle toe long and united to the exterior at its base ; the hind one 
shortest. The first primary, or quill, rather short, the third long- 
est. In the American section of the genus, the bill is rather 
stout; and the tail consists of 12 feathers.— The genus Sarcoram- 
phus of Dumeril, (which includes the Condor and the King 
Vulture,) differs only from the present, by the presence of the 
fieshy crest or caruncle. 


CEES 


“AA 


THE CONDOR. 


(Cathartes gryphus, TemMMinck. Sarcoramphus gryphus, DuMERIL. 
Vultur gryphus, Lixnxvs.) 

Speciric CHaracrer. — Blackish; wings varied with white, and 

not extending beyond the tail; collar white; the head furnished 


with a fleshy crest.— Female destitute of the caruncle. The 
young wholly brown. 


Tue Conpvor derives its name from an Indian word 
which alludes to its supposed sagacious scent. It inhabits 
the whole chain of the Andes of Mexico, Peru, Chili, and 
Patagonia to the Straits of Magellan, and, on the authority 
of Lewis and Clarke, they are sometimes seen in the range 
of the Rocky Mountains, towards the sources of the Mis- 
sour!, where, in their journey, they are mentioned as enor- 


36 BIRDS OF PREY. 


mous bustards; though the bill and talons of one which 
was presented to Peale’s museum proved the bird to be 
either the present species, or the nearly allied Vultur cali- 
fornianus. ‘The occasional migration of these birds into 
this alpine region or the contiguous mountains of California 
is in conformity with their habits in the milder climates of 
Mexico and South America, where, according to Humboldt, 
they are known to soar to an elevation almost six times 
greater than that at which the clouds are ordinarily sus- 
pended over our heads. At the immense height of nearly 
6 perpendicular miles, the Condor is seen majestically 
sailing in the ethereal space, watchfully surveying the vast 
expanse in quest of his accustomed prey. Elevated farther 
above our planet than any other animal, impelled by hunger 
alone he descends into the nearest plains which border the 
Cordilleras; but his stay in these regions is only for a few 
hours, as he prefers these desolate and lofty mountains, 
and this rarified aérial space, in which the barometer only 
attains an elevation of about 16 inches. These rocky 
eyries of the Peruvian Andes (whose plain is elevated about 
15,000 feet above the level of the sea,) have hence ob- 
tained the vernacular name of Condor nests. Here, perched 
in dreary solitude, on the crests of scattered rocks, at the 
very verge of the region of perpetual snow, these dark 
gigantic birds are seen silently reposing Jike melancholy 
spectres, rousing only from their slumbers at the calls of 
hunger. Their-peculiar residence is the great chain of the 
high Andes, where they associate 3 or 4 together upon the 
points of cliffs without either fearing or injuring men, 
so that they may be approached within 4 yards without 
showing alarm, or making on their part any attempt at 
attack. Hardly an instance is really known of their even 
assaulting an infant, though some credulous naturalists, 
with the exaggerating privilege of travellers, have given 


~ 


CONDOR. 37 


_ 


accounts of their killing young persons of 10 or 12 years 
ofage. Their ability for such rapine is not to be doubted, 
but their natural cowardice forbids the attempt. At the 
same time, it is not uncommon to see them follow and 
hover around a young bull until they have torn out his eyes 
and tongue. 

A pair of Condors will not only in this way attack the 
Deer of the Andes, the Puma or American Lion (our 
Panther), the Vicogne, and the Lama (or American 
Camel), but also the Wild Heifer. ‘They will pursue it 
for a long time, occasionally wounding it with their bill 
and claws, until the unfortunate animal, now stifled and 
overcome with fatigue, extends its tongue and groans; on 
which occasion the Condor seizes this member, being a 
very tender and favorite morsel, and tears out the eyes of 
his prey, which at length falls prostrate to the earth and 
slowly expires. The Condor then gorges himself, and 
rests in stupidity, and almost gluttonous inebriation, 
perched upon the highest neighboring rocks. The for- 
midable hunter now loaded with his meal, may be driven 
about without his attempting to fly; and in this state the 
Indians sometimes pursue them with the /asso or noose, 
and easily take them captive. ‘Thus restrained, the Con- 
dor makes extraordinary efforts to rise into the air; but 
fatigued by the attempt, he begins to disgorge himself 
freely, an effort he appears to assist by lengthening and 
shortening the neck, and bringing forward the sheath of 
his beak. ‘They will approach dwellings when allured by 
the scent of food; and a dead animal will draw down a 
crowd of these gluttons, where none at the time are at all 
visible ; they tear and eat with the greatest voracity, push- 
ing sometimes with their feet, and flapping their wings. 

They make no nest, but deposit their eggs upon the 
naked rock ; these are 2, wholly white, and 3 or 4 inches 


4 


3s BIRDS OF PREY. 


— 


in length. It is said that the female remains with her 
young for the space of a year. The young Condor has 
no feathers. His body, for several months, is covered only 
with a very fine down or whitish frizzled hair, which re- 
sembles that of young owls. This down disfigures the 
young bird so much, that in this state it appears almost 
as large as an adult. 


The Condor at the end of the second year changes from black to 
blackish brown. The female as well as the male, at this age acquires 
the white color at the base of the naked neck, consisting of longer 
feathers than those on the rest of the body. The bill is straight, but 
strongly hooked at the point ; the lower mandible considerably shorter 
than the upper; the plumage is white in front, everywhere else of a 
brownish grey. The head and neck are naked, and covered with a 
hard, dry, and wrinkled skin of a reddish color, and scattered over 
with short, rigid, brown, or blackish hairs. The cranium is remark- 
ably flattened, as in most other ferocious animals. The fleshy, or 
almost cartilaginous crest, peculiar to the male, occupies the summit 
of the head, and is about one fourth the length of the bill; it is of an 
oblong figure, and thin and wrinkled. The skin of the head in the 
male forms, behind the eye, folds or rugosities, and beard-like tufts, 
which descend towards the neck, and there unite into a loose mem- 
brane, which the animal has the power of rendering more or less 
visible, and swelling out at pleasure, somewhat after the manner of 
the Turkey. The ear is large, and hidden under a membranous fold. 
The eye is remarkably elongated, farther removed from the bill than 
in the eagles, very lively, and of a purple color ; the whole neck is 
covered with parallel wrinkles, but the skin is not so loose as that 
which covers the throat. The wrinkles are placed longitudinally, 
and originate in the habit this Vulture has of drawing in its neck, 
and hiding it in the collar, which serves it asa hood. This collar, 
formed of silky down, is common to the adult of both sexes; itis a 
white band which separates the naked part of the neck from the rest 
of the body covered with true feathers. The back, the wings, and 
the tail are of a greyish black. The feathers of the Condor are 
sometimes of a brilliant black ; but most frequently the black borders 
on grey. The primary quill feathers of the wing are black, and the 
secondaries are both in the male and female exteriorly edged with 
white. In the female, the wing coverts are of a greyish-black, but 


KING VULTURE. 39 


the points, and even the half of these feathers, are white in the male, 
so that the .wing appears in this sex ornamented with a large white 
patch. The tail is wedge-shaped, rather short, and blackish in both 
sexes. The feet aré very stout, of a greyish blue, and ornamented 
with white wrinkles; the nails are blackish, but little crooked, and 
very long; the 4 toes are connected by a very loose but strongly 
marked membrane; the 4th toe is very small, and the nail more 
curved. 

Total length, 2 to 3 feet 2 lines (French measure) ; bill 1 inch 10 
lines ; extent of the wings about 9 feet and a half our measure ; the 
tail about 1 foot 2 inches ; intermediate or longest toe, with the nail, 
near half a foot. The measurements of this bird have been greatly 
exaggerated; an individual, in the Leverian Museum in England, 
is said to have extended, from the end of the wings, 13 feet 1 inch 
(French measure.) Desmarchais gave ita stretch of 18 feet, and 
adds, that the excessive magnitude of its wings hindered it from 
entering into the forests! It always, however, from choice, perches 
on the ground, or on elevated rocks, its talons, by their situation, not 
affording it a sufficient support on the branches of trees. 


KING VULTURE. 


(Cathartes papa, Ixt1cER. Bonar. Vultur papa, Lin. and Latuam. 
Gypagus papa, ViritioT, Dictionaire Hist. Nat. vol. xxxvi. p. 
456. tab. il. fig. 1. Sarcoramphus papa, Dum&R12.) 


Spec. Cnaract.— Reddish-white ; wings and tail black; nostrils 
carunculated.— Young, dark bluish; belly and sides of the rump 
whitish. 


Turis beautiful species is found in America from the 
380th degree of north latitude to the 32d in the southern 
hemisphere ; but they become more numerous as we ad- 
vance towards the torrid zone. ‘They are met with in 
Peru, Brazil, Guiana, Paraguay, and Mexico. 

The king of the Vultures, which the Spaniards of Par- 
aguay call the White Crow, from the color which pre- 
vails in its plumage, is very shy when found upon the 
ground or upon an isolated tree, but may be approached 


40 BIRDS OF PREY. 


and readily killed, when in the woods, or in some place to 
which carrion has attracted it. They are said to prey 
upon rats, lizards and snakes. While it is feeding, either 
through fear or aversion, the common Vultures or Turkey- 
Buzzards, though in flocks, keep at a distance, and are 
contented with the fragments left by their monarch. Ac- 
cording to M. de Azara, it makes its nest in hollow trees, 
where it lays 2 eggs. 


The bill of this species is straight for one third of its length, then 
strongly curved, and surrounded at its base by a membrane which 
forms, on either side up to the eyes, a large depression, in which are 
situated the ample openings of the nostrils; between these arises a 
kind of loose, soft crest, which moves readily from one side to the 
other, its extremity terminating in a remarkable cluster of warts. 
The crown of the head is naked and of ascarlet color ; a band of very 
short black hairs goes from one eye to the other across the hind- 
head. Below the naked part of the neck there is a very handsome 
plumy, greyish collar, with the feathers directed backward and for- 
ward ; it is sufficiently large to allow the bird at will to retract and 
hide his neck and part of his head. Behind the eye are some large 
wrinkles which come together on the hind-head and form a salient, 
fleshy, orange band, which descends from thence to the collar; these 
wrinkles hide the auditory canal, which is very small, and afterwards 
unite with the other wrinkles which extend to the bill; betwixt 
these wrinkles we perceive a down as well as on the other sides of 
the head. The quills and the great coverts of the wings, the tail, a 
space over the back, and the bill up to the membrane, with the feet, 
are black. The membrane and the fleshy crest of the beak are 
orange ; the naked skin at the base of the bill is purple; the edges 
of the eye-brows are of a lively red; the sides of the neck are flesh- 
colored, purple below the head, yellow above, and of a darkish violet 
near to the band, and the wrinkles of the hind-head. The‘iris, and 
all the rest of the plumage, are white. Some individuals, sup- 
posed to be males, have a feeble tint of red with the white of the 
upper part of the back. Total length 294 inches (French). This 
description applies to the bird when it has accomplished its 4th 
year. 

At 3 years of age there is some black in the middle of the white 
wing coverts. At 2 years of age, the whole head and the naked 


KING VULTURE. 4i 


part of the neck are of a black inclining to violet, with a little yellow 
upon the neck ; all the upper parts blackish; the lower similar, but 
with long blotches of white. The crest black, scarcely movable, and 
having its extremity divided into 3 very small protuberances. In 
its first year, it is throughout of a dark greyish blue, with the excep- 
tion of the belly and the sides of the rump, which are white; the 
under part of the feathers also beneath the body are white. The feet 
greenish. The upper mandible is blackish red; the lower, orange 
mixed with blackish, and with long black spots. The naked parts 
of the head and neck black, and the iris also dark, as well as the 
crest, which consists, at this age, of only a single solid and fleshy 
excrescence. 


The White-tailed Vulture of Bartram, called also the Sacred Vulture, 
from its veneration by the Creeks, seems in this particular of the 
color of the tail to differ essentially from the true King Vulture. Mr. 
Vieillot considers it as a distinct species, and describes it as follows : 
It has the bill long and straight almost to its extremity, where it is 
curved abruptly and becomes very pointed; the head and neck are 
naked almost to the stomach, where the feathers begin to cover the 
skin; they then lengthen by degrees, and form a ruff in which the 
bird, contracting its neck, hides it up to the head. The naked skin 
of the neck is spotted, wrinkled, and of a lively yellow, mixed with 
coral red; the posterior part is almost covered with short thick hairs, 
and the skin is of a deep purple, which becomes more clear and red 
as it approaches the yellow at the sides of the fore part of the neck ; 
the crown of the head is red; there are some orange red appendices 
at the base of the upper mandible. Its plumage is ordinarily white, 
with the exception of the wing and 2 or 3 ranges of small feathers 
covering it, which are of a fine deep brown. The tail is large, white, 
and sprinkled with the same brown or black color. The legs and 
feet are of a clear white. The eye is surrounded with a golden- 
colored iris. 

The Creeks, according to Mr. Bartram, form their royal standard 
with the feathers of this bird, to which they give the name of the 
Eagle’s tail. These birds are scarcely ever seen in Florida, except 
after the burning of the prairies, when they assemble from all quar- 
ters, and approaching by degrees the scorched plains, collect, amidst 
the still warm ashes, the roasting reptiles, snakes, lizards, frogs, &c. 
on which they feed. Having thus gorged themselves, they become 
an easy prey, and even during their repast, seem so employed as to 


4* 


42 BIRDS OF PREY. 


fear no danger. During a journey to West Florida I made many 
inquiries respecting this rare bird, but could only learn, that they 
were occasionally seen near the sea-coast of the Gulf of Mexico. 
Mr. Bartram met with it, near New Smyrna, in East Florida. 


CALIFORNIAN VULTURE. 


(Cathartes califernianus, Ranz. Bonaparrr, Annal. Lye. vol. ii. 
p. 22. Aupuson, Birds of America, pl. 411. Cathartes vulturinus, 
Tem. Vultur californianus, Laruam. Suaw’s Naturalist’s Mis- 
cellany, vol. ix. p. 301.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Blackish: feathers of the collar and breast lan- 
ceolate ; the wings as long as the tail. 


Tuts bird was first brought from California by Menzies, 
and though met with far into the interior of the Oregon 
Territory has not yet been seen to the east of the Rocky 
Mountains. According to Douglas (in the Zoological 
Journal) it is common in the woody districts of California, 
migrating in summer as far as the 49th parallel; being 
rather abundant in the valley of the Oregon between the 
Grand Rapids and the sea. Their food is carrion or dead 
fish, particularly the salmon, which they find wrecked and 
stunned to death in their unceasing attempts to ascend the 
rapids of the Oregon and the Wahlamet. In these situa- 
tions, they may be seen perching or hovering with the 
Buzzards and Ravens, watching the active and ominous 
exit of their numerous prey, which appear to dart from the 
water like so many flying-fish or a swarm of bees around 
the hive. This dilemma of the salmon, impelled by a pow- 
erful instinct to ascend the stream against every obstacle, 
affords a plentiful harvest to the Indian, who with a long 
handled net on a jutting platform, sweeps the boiling 
flood, and at no great distance sits or hovers this large, 
silent and gloomy vulture, waiting the sad issue of an 


CALIFORNIAN VULTURE. 43 


abortive instinct. At other times, the common resort 
failing, they may be occasionally seen near the Indian 
villages, attracted by the offal of fish thrown out, but are 
upon the whole a much shyer bird than the Buzzard. 
They are not observed to attack any living animal, except 
it be badly wounded ; they soar hich in quest of their prey 
and on discovering a wounded deer, or other animal, they 
follow its track until it sinks, and then make a rapid 
descent. Crowding to the spot where their quarry is dis- 
covered, in an hour they will reduce a stag or a horse to a 
skeleton. They are extremely voracious, and when gorged, 
like the Condor, they become too sluggish and indolent to 
remove from the scene of their disgusting repast, and 
remain perched on the adjacent trees till again aroused by 
the calls of hunger. Except, however, after eating, or 
while guarding their nest, they are so wary, that the hunter 
can scarcely ever approach them within gun-shot. Their 
flight is slow, steady and sailing, with scarcely any apparent 
motion in their wings: but they are seen in great numbers, 
and soar highest before hurricanes or thunder storms. 
According to Douglas, they build in the thickest of the 
pine forests near the edges of precipices in the least acces- 
sible parts of the mountain valleys. The nest is large, 
composed of thorny twigs and grass, like that of the eagle, 
but more slovenly built. The pair resort to the same eyry 
year after year, and lay 2 nearly round eggs, about the 
size of those of the goose. They hatch about the begin- 
ning of June, and sit 29 or 30 days. The young are cov- 
ered with thick whitish down, and remain in the nest until 
the fifth or sixth week. 

The general color of this bird is greyish-black ; but the secondary 
quill feathers are white at their extremities, and the coverts of the 
wings incline to brown; the folded wings extend to the tail. The 


skin of the head and neck is more or less wrinkled, destitute of 
feathers, smooth and of a dusky red. The bill is yellow; the base of 


44 BIRDS OF PREY. 


the neck, is surrounded with a ruff of narrow blackish feathers ; and 
the under parts of the body are covered with loose and downy plumes. 
The tail is equal at its extremity, and the feet blackish. Length 55 
to 56 inches. 


TURKEY-BUZZARD. 


(Cathartes aura, Itt1e. Bonar. Avupuson, Birds of America, pl. 106. 
Vultur aura, Lix. and Laru. Wiisox. Am. Orn. vol. ix. p. 95. 
pl. 75. f. 1.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Blackish; neck feathered equally all round; 
wings not extending beyond the tail, which is rounded ; the nos- 
trils oval.— Young, dark brown; with the wing-coverts and 
secondaries somewhat spotted with white. 


Tis common Turkey-like Vulture is found abund- 
antly in both North and South America, but seems 
wholly to avoid the North-eastern or New England states, 
a straggler being seldom seen as far as the latitude of 41 
degrees. Whether this limit arises from some local an- 
tipathy, their dislike of the cold eastern storms which pre- 
vail in the spring till the time they usually breed, or some 
other cause, it is not easily assignable; and the fact is still 
more remarkable, as they have been observed in the interior, 
by Mr. Say, as far as Pembino in the 49th degree of north 
latitude, by Lewis and Clarke near the Falls of the Oregon, 
and they are not uncommon throughout that territory. 
They are, however, much more abundant in the warmer 
than in the colder regions; and are found beyond the 
equator, even as far, or farther than the La Plata. All the 
West India islands are inhabited by them, as well as the 
tropical continent, where, as in the Southern states of the 
Union, they are commonly protected for their services 
as scavengers of carrion, which would prove highly dele- 
terious in those warm and humid climates. In the win- 


TURKEY-BUZZARD. 45 


ter they generally seek out warmth and shelter, hovering 
often like grim and boding spectres in the suburbs, and 
on the roofs and chimneys of the houses, around the 
cities of the Southern states. A few brave the winters 
of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey; but the 
greater part migrate south at the approach of cold 
weather. 

The Turkey-Buzzard has not been known to breed 
north of New Jersey in any of the Atlantic states. Here 
they seek out the swampy solitudes, and, without forming 
any nest, deposite 2 eggs in the stump of a hollow tree 
or log, on the mere fragments of rotten wood with 
which it is ordinarily strewed. Occasionally, in the 
Southern states, they have been known to make choice 
of the ruined chimney of a deserted house for this pur- 
pose. The eggs are larger than those of a Turkey, of 
a yellowish white, irregularly blotched with dark brown 
and blackish spots, chiefly at the larger end. The male 
often attends while the female is sitting; and, if not ma- 
terially disturbed, they will continue to occupy the same 
place for several years in succession. 

The young are covered with a whitish down, and, in 
common with the habit of the old birds, will often eject, 
upon those who happen to molest them, the filthy con- 
tents of their stomachs. 

In the cities of the south they appear to be somewhat 
gregarious; and, as if aware of the protection afforded 
them, present themselves often in the streets, and partic- 
ularly near the shambles. They also watch the empty- 
ing of the scavengers’ carts in the suburbs, where, in com- 
pany with the still more domestic Black Vultures, they 
search out their favorite morsels amidst dust, filth, and 
rubbish of all descriptions. Bits of cheese, of meat, 
fish, or any thing sufficiently fetid, and easy of digestion, 


46 BIRDS OF PREY. 


is greedily sought after, and eagerly eyed. When the 
opportunity offers they eat with gluttonous voracity, and 
fill themselves in such a manner as to be sometimes in- 
capable of rising from the ground. They are accused at 
times of attacking young pigs and lambs, beginning their 
assault by picking out the eyes. Mr. Waterton, how- 
ever, while at Demerara, watched them for hours together 
amidst reptiles of all descriptions, but they never made 
any attack upon them. He even killed lizards and frogs 
and put them in their way, but they did not appear to 
notice them until they attained the putrid scent. So 
that a more harmless animal, living at all upon flesh, is 
not in existence, than the Turkey Vulture. 

At night they roost in the neighboring trees, but I 
believe, seldom in flocks like the Black kind. In winter 
they sometimes pass the night in numbers on the roofs 
of the houses, in the suburbs of the southern cities, and 
appear particularly desirous of taking advantage of the 
warmth which they discover to issue from the chimneys. 
Here, when the sun shines, they and their black rela- 
tives, though no wise social, may be observed perch- 
ed in these conspicuous places basking in the feeble 
rays, and stretching out their dark wings to admit the 
warmth directly to their chilled bodies. And, when not 
engaged in acts of necessity they amuse themselves on 
fine clear days, even at the coolest season of the year, 
by soaring, in companies, slowly and majestically into the 
higher regions of the atmosphere; rising gently, but rap- 
idly, in vast spiral circles, they sometimes disappear 
beyond the thinnest clouds. ‘They practise this lofty 
flight particularly before the commencement of thunder 
storms; when, elevated above the war of elements, they 
float at ease in the ethereal space with outstretched 
wings, making no other apparent effort than the light 


TURKEY-BUZZARD. 47 


balloon, only now and than steadying their sailing pin- 
ions as they spread them to the fanning breeze, and be- 
come abandoned to its accidental sports. In South Amer- 
ica, according to Humboldt, they soar even in company 
with the Condor in his highest flights, rising above the 
snowy summits of the tropical Andes. 

Mr. Waterton is of opinion that this Vulture is not 
truly gregarious, arriving at their food from various quar- 
ters, and coming singly. It is indeed certain that on all 
other occasions they keep only in pairs. 


~, 


The Turkey Vulture is about 24 feet in length, and 6 in breadth. 
Eyes dark or reddish-hazel. The head and neck for about an inch 
and a half below the ears, furnished witha reddish wrinkled skin, 
and some tints of blue, sprinkled with short black hairs. From the 
hind-head to the neck-feathers the space is covered with a black 
down. The fore-part of the neck is bare to the breast-bone. The 
plumage of the neck is large and tumid, and, with that of the back 
and shoulders, nearly black; almost all the rest of the body is of 
the same color, in parts inclining to brown. 3d primary longest. 
The wings extend to the end of the tail. The upper plumage is 
generally glossed with green and bronze, having purplish reflections. 
Legs feathered to the knees; the feet somewhat webbed. The bill 
nearly white, often tipped with bright olive green. Weight from 44 
to 5 pounds. 


BLACK VULTURE, or ‘CARRION-CROW.’ 


(Cathartes jota, Bonaparte. Avunupon, pl. 106. f. 1. and 107. fi 
2. Vulter jota, Mottna. V. atratus. Witson. Am. Orn. ix. p.104. 
pl. 75. f. 2.) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Black; neck more feathered above than below ; 
wings not extending beyond the tail; 5th primary longest; tail 
a little emarginated; the nostrils linear-oblong, and the head 
black.— Young, entirely brown. 


Tuts smaller, black, and truly gregarious species of 
Vulture, in the United States, appears to be generally con- 


48 BIRDS OF PREY. 


fined to the Southern states, and seems to be most nume- 
rous and familiar in the large maritime towns of North 
and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. ‘They are also 
met with in several of the Western states, and as far up 
the Ohio as Cincinnati. In the tropical regions of Amer- 
ica they are also very common, and extend at least as far 
as Chili. Like the former species, with which they asso- 
ciate only at meal-times, they are tacitly allowed a public 
protection for the service they render in ridding the earth 
of carrion and other kinds of filth. ‘They are much more 
familiar in the towns than the preceding; delighting, dur- 
ing winter, to remain on the roofs of houses, catching the 
feeble rays of the sun, and stretching out their wings to 
admit the warm air over their fetid bodies. When the 
weather becomes unusually chilly, or in the mornings, 
they may be seen basking upon the chimneys in the warm 
smoke, which, as well as the soot itself, can add no addi- 
tional darkness or impurity to such filthy and melancholy 
spectres. Here, or on the limbs of some of the larger 
trees, they remain in listless indolence till aroused by the 
calls of hunger. 

Their flight is neither so easy nor so graceful as that of 
the Turkey-Buzzard. They flap their wings and then 
soar horizontally, renewing the motion of their pinions 
at short intervals. At times, however, they rise to con- 
siderable elevations. In the city of Charleston and Sa- 
vannah they are to be seen in numbers walking the streets 
with all the familiarity of domestic fowls, examining the 
channels and accumulations of filth in order to glean up 
the offal, or animal matter of any kind, which may happen 
to be thrown out. ‘They appeared to be very regular in 
their attendance around the shambles, and some of them 
become known by sight. This was particularly the case 
with an old veteran who hopped upon one foot, (having by 


BLACK VULTURE. 49 


some accident lost the other,) and had regularly appeared 
round the shambles to claim the bounty of the butchers 
for about 20 years. In the country, where I have sur- 
prised them feeding in the woods, they appeared rather 
shy and timorous, watching my movements alertly like 
hawks; and every now and then one or two of them, as 
they sat in the high boughs of a neighboring oak, commu- 
nicated tothe rest, as I slowly approached, a low bark of 
alarm or waugh, something like the suppressed growl of 
a puppy, at which the whole flock by degrees deserted the 
dead hog upon which they happened to be feeding. Some- 
times they will collect together about one carcase to the 
number of two hundred and upwards; and the object 
whatever it may be, is soon robed in living mourning, 
scarcely any thing being visible but a dense mass of these 
sable scavengers, who may often be seen jealously contend- 
ing with each other, both in and out of the carcase, defiled 
with blood and filth, holding on with their feet, hissing 
and clawing each other, or tearing off morsels so as to fill 
their throats nearly to choking, and occasionally joined by 
growling dogs; the whole presenting one of the most 
savage and disgusting scenes in nature, and truly worthy 
the infernal bird of Prometheus. 

In Carthagena, however, according to Ulloa, this species 
is highly serviceable to man, in the destruction it makes 
of the eggs of the formidable southern Alligator or Cay- 
man. ‘I'he Vulture watches the Alligator as she lays her 
eggs in the sand, and, immediately, on her disappearance, 
darts upon the deposit, and joined, as usual, by numerous 
comrades, soon extinguishes these nests of reptiles. 

According to Mr. Abbott, and Audubon, this species 
chooses similar situations for its nest with the Turkey- 
Buzzard, fixing upon hollow trees in retired swamps, lay- 
ing two white eggs, blotched with black and brown. They 

5 


50 BIRDS OF PREY. 

sit 21 days, the male and female by turns, mutually feeding 
each other during incubation. It appears, according to 
Audubon, that those birds which frequent the city of 
Charleston, resort at night to a common roost, in the 
manner of Crows, — this place was a swampy wood across 
the Ashley river, about two miles from the city. 


The Black Vulture is about 26 inches long; and 4 feet 4 inches in 
the stretch of the wings. The bill 23 inches, of a dark brown color 
for about an inch, the remainder black. The head, and a part of the 
neck, are covered with a black, wrinkled skin, scattered with papil- 
lose excrescences, and set with short black hairs, and downy behind. 
Iris reddish-hazel. The general color of the plumage is of a dull 
black. A dark cream-colored spot is visible on the primaries when 
the wing is unfolded. The legs whitish grey. The body, when 


opened, smells strongly of musk. 


FAMILY FALCONIN Z. 


Heap covered with feathers. The pitt hooked; and 
commonly curved from its origin; provided with a colored 
cere, more or less hairy at its base; the lower mandible 
obliquely rounded, and both sometimes notched. The 
Nostrits lateral, rounded or ovoid, situated in the cere 
and open. The tarsus clothed with feathers, or naked, 
and then scaly; the toes are 3 before, and 1 behind; the 
exterior commonly united at its base to the adjoining by a 
membrane. Nails sharp, strongly hooked, movable, and 
retractile. Vail of 12 feathers. 


Tuesse are the noble birds of prey ; their aspect, entire form, and 
actions indicate the different manner of living they pursue, from 
that of the Vultures. Strength, temerity, and stratagem are the 
attributes of this great family of rapacious birds; they are provided 
with offensive arms denied to the ignoble race who feed on carrion ; 
the means of flight, the power of seizing their prey, as well as the 
vision, are very different in each. In these, the size of the head is 


CARACARA, 51 


in proportion to the body, and wholly covered with feathers, as well 
as the neck, which is short and thick. Their vision is acute and 
extensive, their flight rapid and long sustained; and they are able 
to soar toa prodigious height. They live either solitary or in pairs ; 
and their nourishment, by choice, consists almost always of living 
animals, which they seize and convey in their talons; the different 
manner of seizing their prey, and the courage they display in its pur- 
suit, distinguish them one from another. The larger species subsist 
on quadrupeds and birds; others on fish; some only attack reptiles ; 
but the greater number of the small species are content to live on 
insects, and principally devour beetles. The plumage, at different 
periods of age is extremely different; the young are several years 
before they acquire the stable livery of the adult; this fixed charac- 
ter only takes place in their 3d, 4th, or even, in some species, their 
6th year. The young are always distinguished from the old by 
having more numerous and variable spots and lines; when the colors 
of the plumage in old individuals are disposed in transverse lines and 
bands, the young of such species have the same marks disposed 
lengthwise. The females are usually a third larger than the other 
sex ; besides which disparity, they have often also a different-colored 
plumage. The moulting takes place only once in the year. — It 
appears scarcely possible, that amidst a genus only distinguished for 
harsh and quailing cries, a musical species should occur; yet accor- 
ding to Daudin and Latham the Falco musicus, of Caffraria, chants a 
song morning and evening, and sometimes like the nightingale even 
continues his lay throughout the night. 


POLYBORUS. (Veruu.) CARACARA. 


Tue bill elongated, straight at the base, compressed, 
curved about half its length, depressed at the sides, the 
tip hooked and trigonal; lower mandible entire and ob- 
tuse: Nostrils oblong, oblique. Cere large, face naked. 
Legs naked. Lateral toes equal, the middle one longer, 
the outer connected to the middle one by a membrane at 
base, hind toe shortest. Wings long. 

Intermediate with the Hawks and Vultures; feeding 
upon fresh or putrid meat, and dead or living prey, which 


DNIVERSITY OF 


ILUINGIS LIBRARY 


52 BIRDS OF PREY. 


it sometimes seizes in the manner of the Falcon. Pugna- 
cious and tyrannical, frequently uttering loud screams. 
The flight easy, graceful, and long sustained. Several 
species exist in Surinam and other parts of tropical Amer- 
ica. 


CARACARA EAGLE. 


(Polyborus Brasiliensis. Swatxson, Aupus. pl. 161. Falco Bra- 
siliensis. GmeE.. LaTHam.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Cere and naked cheeks red; dusky; throat 
white, the breast barred ; tail white with many (16) narrow bars 
and a black terminal band. 


Tus very remarkable and fine bird was first met with 
by Mr. Audubon near St. Augustine, in East Florida. He 
afterwards also found it on Galveston Island, in Texas. 
From its general habits and graceful, sweeping flight, it 
was for some time mistaken fora hawk. Though com- 
mon in many parts of South America, it is within the 
limits of the United States merely an accidental visitor. 
It is said, however, to breed in Florida, in the highest 
branches of tall trees in the pine barrens, making a rough 
nest of sticks like a hawk. In Texas it breeds, according 
to Audubon, in the tops of bushes only seven or eight feet 
from the ground. Like the Vultures it lays but two eggs. 


Bit pale bluish-grey, yellow on the edges: space before the eye, 
cheeks, and cere nearly bare and of a bright red. Above umber- 
brown, slightly mottled on the back; 4th quill longest, primaries and 
some of the secondaries barred with broad bands of white; tail co- 
verts dull white, slightly barred; tail greyish-white, with 16 narrow 
bars and a broad terminal band of blackish-brown; throat yellowish- 
white ; breast transversely barred (in the adult), longitudinally in the 
young ; hind part, abdomen, sides dusky, legs and feet yellow ; lower 
tail-coverts obscurely banded. Iris dark brown. Length 234 inches, 
extent of wings 48 inches. 


GYRFALCON. 53 


FALCO. (Liyn.) FALCON. 


Tue bill short, and curved from the base; edges of the 
upper mandible provided with a tooth which closes into a 
corresponding notch in the lower; the nostrils rounded, 
and having acentral tubercle. Feet strong; tarsi rather 
short; toes strong and considerably extended ; nails long, 
sharp, and curved. The wings long; the Ist primary 
equal in length to the 3d; the 2d longest; the Ist and 2d 
have an abrupt emargination on the inner web near their 
extremities. 


They exist wholly on living prey, and show great address in seiz- 
ing or surprising it; pursuing birds swiftly, or pouncing directly 
upon them from above. They nest usually in the crevices of rocks, 
ruins, or hollow trees. These were the species used in Falconry, 
and called noble because of the high prerogative of those who fol- 
lowed thisamusement. The smaller species live much on insects or 
reptiles. In the island of Java there exists a species of this division 
no larger than a lark. 


GYRFALCON. 


co gyrfalco. Lin. Falco islandicus, Laruam. Ind. Orn. v. i. p. 32. 

(Falco gyrfal Lin. Falco islandi L Ind. O i. p. 32 
sp. 69. [the adult], and Falco gyrfalco. Ipip. Ind. v.1. p. 32. sp. 68. 
[the young.] ) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Cere and round the eyes livid yellow ; feet yel- 
low ; plumage white, lined and spotted with brown; iris brown ; 
bands of the tail 12 to 14.— Female more spotted, also banded on 
the flanks.— Young. Upper plumage greyish-brown, with small 
white terminal spots; feet plumbeous, slightly inclining to yel- 
low ; cere light bluish. 


Tis elegant and celebrated Falcon is about 2 feet in 


length; the female 2 or 3 inches longer. They particu- 


larly abound in Iceland, and are found also throughout 
Siberia, and the North of Europe as far as Greenland; Mr. 


5* 


54 BIRDS OF PREY. 


Hutchins, according to Pennant, saw them commonly 
about Fort Albany, at Hudson’s Bay. Occasionally a 
pair is also seen in this vicinity in the depth of winter. 
They brave the coldest climates, for which they have such 
a predilection as seldom to leave the arctic regions; the 
younger birds are commonly seen in the North of Ger- 
many, but very rarely the old, which are readily distin- 
guished by the superior whiteness of their plumage which 
augments with age, and by the increasing narrowness of 
the transverse stripes that ornament the upper parts of the 
body. ‘The finest of these Falcons were caught in Iceland 
by means of baited nets; the bait was commonly a Ptar- 
migan, Pigeon, or common Fowl, and such was the velo- 
city and power of his pounce, that he commonly severed 
the head from the baited bird as nicely as if it had been 
done by arazor. ‘These birds were reserved for the kings 
of Denmark, and from thence they were formerly trans- 
ported into Germany, and even Turkey and Persia. The 
taste for the amusement of falconry was once very pre- 
valent throughout Europe, and continued for several cen- 
turies, but at this time it has almost wholly subsided. The 
Tartars, and Asiatics generally, were also equally addicted 
to this amusement. A Sir Thomas Monson, no later than 
the reign of James the First, is said to have given a thou- 
sand pounds for a cast of Hawks. 

Next to the Eagle, this bird is the most formidable, 
active, and intrepid, and was held in the highest esteem 
for falconry. It boldly attacks the largest of birds; the 
Swan, Goose, Stork, Heron, and Crane are to it easy vic- 
tims; in its native regions it lives much on the hare and 
Ptarmigan; upon these it darts with astonishing velocity, 
and often seizes its prey by pouncing upon it almost per- 
pendicularly. ‘They breed in the cold and desert regions 
where they usually dwell, fixing their nests amidst the 


COMMON OR WANDERING FALCON, 55 


most lofty and inaccessible rocks, and are said to lay from 
3 to 5 eggs. 


In the old male, the bottom of all the plumage is white, striped 
upon the upper parts of the body and the tail with narrow brown 
bands. The lower parts are equally white, but marked with small 
brown spots in the form of tears ; these spots are larger and more nu- 
merous upon the flanks. The bill is yellowish. 


(=e 
fo AT aia 


A. BOWEN, 


COMMON or WANDERING FALCON. 


(Falco peregrinus, Lin. Great-footed Hawk, Witson, Am. Orn. ix. 
p. 120. t. 76. Aupwuson, pl. 16. [a spirited group in the act of de- 
vouring Teal.] Le Faucon. Burr. pl. 421. Le Lanier, ibid. pl. 
430, [an old male.] Falco Anatum, Bonar. Birds of Europe and 
N. America, p. 4. No. 22. 


Spec. Cuaract. — Brownish-black ; beneath, whitish, transversely 
barred with blackish brown; cheeks with a widening space of 
black ; middle toe as long as the tarsus ; inner web of the 1st pri- 
mary only indented near the summit.— Female inclining to ash- 
color; beneath, tending to ferruginous. — Young alone, greyish- 
black, the feathers edged with pale brown; beneath, whitish, with 
large longitudinal central brown spots ; also with the fore and hind 
head and cheeks whitish yellow with black spots. 


56 ; BIRDS OF PREY. 


The celebrated, powerful, and princely Falcon is com- 
mon both to the continent of Europe and America. In 
the former they are chiefly found in mountainous regions, 
and make their nests in the most inaccessible clefts of 
rocks, and very rarely in trees, laying 3 or 4 eggs of a 
reddish-yellow with brown spots. In Europe, they seldom 
descend to the plains, and avoid marshy countries. The 
period of incubation lasts but a short time, and com- 
mences in winter, or very early in the Spring, so that the 
young acquire their full growth by the middle of May. 
They are supposed to breed in the tall trees of the desolate 
Cedar swamps in New Jersey. Audubon, however, found 
them nesting on shelving rocks on the shores of Labrador 
and Newfoundland, laying from 2 to 5 eggs of a rusty 
yellowish brown, spotted and blotched with darker tints of 
the same color. It also breeds on shelving rocks in the 
Rocky Mountains, where Mr. Townsend obtained a speci- 
men on Big Sandy River of the Colorado of the West in 
the month of July. When the young have attained their 
growth, the parents drive them from their haunts, with 
incessant and piercing screams and complaints, an unna- 
tural propensity which nothing but dire necessity, the diffi- 
culty of acquiring sustenance, alone can palliate. 

In strength and temerity, the Falcon is not exceeded by 
any bird of its size. He soars with easy and graceful mo- 
tions amidst the clouds or clear azure of the sky; from 
this lofty elevation he selects his victim from among the 
Jarger birds, Grous, Pheasants, Pigeons, Ducks, or Geese. 
Withont being perceived, he swiftly descends, as if falling 
from the clouds in a perpendicular line, and carries terror 
and destruction into the timid ranks of his prey. Instead 
of flying before their relentless enemy, the Partridge and 
Pheasant run and closely hide in the grass, the Pigeons 
glance aside to avoid the fatal blow which is but too sure 


COMMON OR WANDERING FALCON. 57 


in its aim, and the water fowls seek a more certain refuge 
in diving beneath their yielding element. If the prey be 
not too large, the Falcon mounts into the air, bearing it 
off in his talons, and then alights to gorge himself with 
his booty at leisure. Sometimes he attacks the Kite, 
another fellow plunderer, either in wanton insult, or more 
probably to rob him of his quarry. 

The name of Wandering or Passenger Falcon was ap- 
plied to the darkest individuals, a character merely de- 
‘pending on age. These frequently migrate across the 
Mediterranean from the islands to the neighboring conti- 
nent, and hence were looked upon as foreign. They do 
not, however, essentially differ from the common species. 
Edwards’ Black Falcon of Hudson’s Bay is this kind in 
the same state of plumage. In New Jersey, it has, from its 
noted depredations, acquired the name of the Duck-Hawk 
along the sea-coast, where it is not unfrequent. Wilson’s 
figure represents, apparently, an old bird, as the cere and 
feet are bright yellow: at an earlier period these parts 
much incline to green; at this age the Falcon is in its 
fullest vigor, and, when well trained, was highly esteemed 
in the times when the princely amusement of Falconry 
was in fashion. Great care even was employed in select- 
ing the young at a proper age for acquiring docility. 
When taken too early they often proved noisy and obsti- 
nate; if removed from the nest they were not to be 
handled, but put into another artificial one. Their food 
was to be wild animals or chickens, so as to foster their 
perfect and natural growth. ‘The sorrel-colored or Jight- 
brown Falcons, caught late in autumn, were considered 
the most hopeful and easiest to breed and teach; later, the 
habit of freedom, and the commencement of selective at- 
tachments, rendered them less patient in captivity, and 
their fidelity could not be relied upon. The dark Falcon 


58 BIRDS OF PREY. 


moults in August. The dispositions of these birds vary 
in individuals, some prove indolent and cowardly, others 
are so fierce that they cannot be restrained. They no 
doubt, like other large muscular birds, live to a great age. 
In the year 1793 a Falcon was reported to have been 
caught at the Cape of Good Hope, and brought to Eng- 
land with a golden collar about its neck, dated 1610, and 
an inscription importing that the bird belonged to King 
James; therefore the collar must have been on this bird 
183 years! It still appeared lively, but its eyes were dim, 
and the feathers round the collar were changed to white. 
To show the swiftness of the Falcon, it is related, that one 
belonging to Henry the Second, which flew after a little 
Bustard at Fontainebleau, was caught next morning at 
Malta, and recognized by the ring which it bore. 

When caught, a ring was put round the leg of the Fal- 
con to which was attached a label bearing the name of the 
owner, and a small round bell was suspended from the 
neck in order to discover the bird when wandering astray 
in the chase. As no durable attachment could be expect- 
ed from a bird of so rapacious a nature, obedience was 
obtained only by punishment and privation. At first the 
captive was muffled by a cap thrown over the head and 
retained for some days, during the greater part of which 
time the Hawk was suffered to fast; and his appetite was 
even whetted by a cleansing dose of tow which he was 
made to swallow rolled up in pellets for the purpose. In 
a short time this severe discipline had the effect of pro- 
ducing a passive obedience, and he became accustomed 
to the muffle, and submitted quietly to the privation of 
light; if still wild, the discipline was continued longer, 
and occasionally, the head of the malcontent was dipped 
into cold water. He soon became inured to the finger of 
the falconer, a morsel of food being held out as an induce- 


COMMON OR WANDERING FALCON. 59 


ment; at length, he was taught, after another fast, to eat 
his food from amongst a lure or string of legs and wings 
of birds; next he approached the sole object of his educa- 
tion, and flew at the prey shown to him, while retained to 
his keeper at the end of a long string; and, finally, he was 
carried out and suffered to fly at large, to soar, and pounce 
upon his quarry from on high, in all the elegance and 
fierceness of unrestrained nature. Some of these birds, 
like modern dogs and horses, became the greatest favor- 
ites; and as the amusement was restricted to the privileged 
ranks alone, it excited the admiration and envy of all. 
The male or Tiercel (a third less than the female) was 
employed to catch Partridges, Blackbirds, Magpies, Jays, 
and small birds; but the task of the female was to engage 
in the noble chase of the Hare, the Kite, the Crane, and 
other large objects. This recreation, not unknown even 
to the Romans in the early part of the Christian era, was 
also practised throughout the East, and still continues in 
Persia, Tartary, and China, where the most extravagant 
prices are given to the Russians and other Northern na- 
tions for these favorite birds, which appear to be more en- 
ergetic in proportion to the coldness of the climates where 
they happen to be raised. According to Chardin, the Jer- 
Falcon of Russia, taken to Persia, is not allowed to be 
kept by any person less than the king, and each bird is 
valued at the extravagant price of 1500 crowns; if any of 
them die on the road, the ambassador brings the head and 
wings to his majesty, to show that he has been faithful to 
his charge. 

The Falcon, long as it has been subjected to the 
caprice of man, has never been subdued or domestica- 
ted; it refuses to breed in slavery; the species at large 
still rove in all the freedom of their savage nature, and 
disown the empire of man. Their ferocity is broken by 


60 BIRDS OF PREY. 


restraint and privation, so that they submit to perform a 
task for the hope of an accustomed reward; but they 
serve from habit and necessity, and not from attachment ; 
they remain obedient captives, but never become willing 
domestics. 


The length of this species in Europe, is 15 to 16 inches; the 
female is from 17 to 18. The female given by Wilson is said to be 
20 inches, and 3 feet 8 inches in extent of wings. Bill greyish blue. 
A space around the eyes, iris, feet, and cere, yellow. Upper parts 
blackish-brown, the scapulars and tertials barred with faint ash (in 
the European adult of a cinereous blue, with bands of a darker color.) 
Wings not extending to the tip of the tail (in the European the wings 
extend to the end of the tail.) Tail rounded, black ; crossed with 8 
narrow ash-colored bands. Beneath, yellowish-white, with the breast 
spotted with dark brown; sides, femorals, and beneath, barred rather 
broadly with the same. The primaries and secondaries marked 
transversely on their inner vanes, with large oblong spots of ferrugin- 
ous white.—Female. Nore. This bird appeared to live along the 
sea coast, having in its stomach the remains of small birds, and of the 
Sanderling. As this species is not quoted by Temminck in his ac- 
count of the Falcon, there is some reason to doubt the indentity of the 
American and European species. 


PIGEON-HAWK. 


(Falco columbarius. Lix. Wuixson, Am. Orn. ii. p. 107. pl. 15. fig. 3. 
Avpusoy, pl. 92. Young, F. temerarius. pl. 75. adult.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dusky brown ; beneath brownish-white, with black- 
ish longitudinal stripes ; the tail with 4 narrow white bands. 


Tus species is a little larger than the following, but by 
no means so abundant; though met with in latitude 48 
degrees by Long’s North-Western Expedition, and occa- 
sionally extending its migrations from ‘Texas to Hudson’s 
Bay, and rearing its young in the interior of Canada. Its 
nest was also observed by Audubon in Labrador in the low 


THE MERLIN. 61 


fir trees, and contained 5 eggs, laid about the Ist of June. 
It is shy, skulking, and watchful, seldom venturing beyond 
the unreclaimed forest, and flies rapidly, but, I believe, 
seldom soars or hovers. Small birds and mice constitute 
his principal food; and, according to Wilson, he follows 
often in the rear of the gregarious birds, such as the Black- 
Birds, and Reed-Birds, as well as after the flitting flocks 
of Pigeons and Robins, picking up the stragglers, the 
weak and unguarded, as his legitimate prey. Sometimes, 
when shot at without effect, he will fly in circles around 
the gunner and utter impatient shrieks, probably in ap- 
prehension for the safety of his mate, or to communicate 
a cry of alarm. 

The male is 11 inches long, and 23 broad. The female an inch 
and a half longer. The whole upper parts are of deep dusky brown, 
except the tail, which is thinly barred with white. The bill is of a 
light blaish-grey, tipped with black. The skin round the eye green- 
ish as well as the cere ; a line over the eye of lighter brown. The 
lower parts brownish-white, striped or spotted with dark brown. Legs 
yellow; claws black. The thigh feathers remarkably long and 


striped. Iris deep hazel. — The female darker, with some white on the 
hind-head. 


THE MERLIN. 


(Falco esalon, Guevin. F. lithofalco. Ipip. F. esalon. Temm. Man. 
d’Orn, 1. p. 27.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Above bluish-grey spotted and striped with dusky 
and ferruginous; the head dusky and striped; below yellowish- 
white with oblong spots; cere and feet yellow.— Female above, 
dusky brown barred and spotted with lighter yellowish-brown. 


Tue specimen of this well known Falcon of the old 
continent, was obtained by Dr. Richardson at Carlton 
House, in the Hudson’s Bay fur countries in the month of 
May. A second specimen, was also killed at the Sault 

6 


62 BIRDS OF PREY. 


St. Marie, between Lakes Huron and Superior. Two 
specimens of this species were also obtained by Mr. 
Townsend in the forests of Bear River in the Rocky 
mountains where they were breeding in a cedar tree, in 
the month of July. The Merlin often nests on the ground, 
very closely amidst the heath, in the north of England ; 
and sometimes they deposit their eggs in a deserted crow’s 
nest; these are said to be of a plain chocolate color. 
Occasionally they are seen in the vicinity of Boston. 


The length 14 inches. (The male about 10 inches long). The 
dorsal aspect dull, dusky yellowish-brown, varied by spots and short 
transverse bars of dull wood-brown. Feathers of the crown centred 
with blackish-brown ; the plumage of the neck lighter. On the back, 
wing and tail coverts, the wood-brown forms one or two pairs of 
roundish, ill defined spots on each feather and on the scapulars, bars. 
The primaries with from 5 to 7 pair of wood-brown spots, those on the 
outer webs small, irregular, and near the shafts. The tail paler and 
duller than the back, except at the end where it is also tipped with 
soiled white, and crossed by 5 narrow bars of the same color. — The 
throat white ; cheeks, sides of the neck and breast, brownish-white, 
streaked lengthways with dark liver-brown. Belly and thighs white, 
with yellowish-brown streaks on the shafts. Flanks and wing 
linings, yellowish-brown with oval white marks. Quills barred 
alternately on the inside with dull brown and wine-yellow. Under 
tail coverts white. Bill bluish-black. 2d and 3d quills longest. — 


Female. 


AMERICAN SPARROW-HAWK. 


(Falco sparverius. Lix. Witson, Am. Orn. ii. p. 117. pl. 16. fig. 1. 
[female,] and iv. p. 57. pl. 32. fig. 2. [male.] Avupus. pl. 142. 
cerchneis sparverius. BonapP. p. 9.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Rufous, beneath nearly white, spotted with black- 
ish-brown; seven black curved spots disposed around the head.— 
Male, with the wing-coverts slate-blue ; tail with a single sub- 
terminal band, the two exterior feathers spotted with black.— 
Female and young, more banded and spotted ; tail with numerous 


bands. 


AMERICAN SPARROW-HAWKE. 63 


Tits beautiful and singularly marked bird, appears to 
reside principally in the warmer parts of the United States. 
They are particularly abundant in the winter throughout 
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, whither 
they assemble from the remote interior of the Northern 
States, wandering in summer as far as the Rocky Moun- 
tains, and were even seen by Dr. Richardson in the re- 
mote latitude of 53 degrees; these appear, however, to be 
only stragglers; nor do they seem at all to visit the 
maritime districts of New England. As they were seen in 
St. Domingo, by Veillot, abundantly in April and May, 
the breeding season, we may naturally conclude that this 
species has a much greater predilection for the warm than 
the cold climates. On the south side of the equator, even 
in Cayenne and Paraguay, they are still found, in all of 
which countries they probably breed. 

According to the habits of this tribe of rapacious birds, 
it appears that the nest is built in a hollow, shattered, or 
decayed tree at a considerable elevation; the eggs are 
said to be 4 or 5, of a light brownish yellow and spotted 
with brown. 

Its motions appear somewhat capricious, it occasionally 
hovers with beating wings, reconnoitring for prey, and 
soon impatiently darts off to a distance to renew the same 
maneuvre. In the winter, however, it is most commonly 
seen perched on some dead branch, or on a pole or stalk 
in the fields, often at a little distance from the ground, 
keeping up a frequent jerking of the tail, and attentively 
watching for some such humble game as mice, grasshoppers, 
or lizards. At this time it is likewise so familiar as to 
enter the garden, orchard, or premises near to the house, 
and shows but little alarm on being approached. It is 
however by no means deficient in courage, and like the 
larger Falcons, often makes a fatal and rapid sweep 


64 BIRDS OF PREY, 


upon sparrows, or those small birds which are its accustom- 
ed prey. 

The female is 11 inches long, the stretch of the wings 23 inches. 
The male about 94 or 10 inches. The cere andlegs are yellow. The 
bill bluish-grey. Space round the eye greenish-blue. Iris, dark 
haze]. The head bluish-ash ; crown, rufous; 7 large black spots, 6 
of them curving, surround the head on a white ground. The whole 
upper parts are of a reddish bay, striped transversely with dusky 
brown; the primary and secondary quills black, spotted on their 
inner vanes with brownish-white. Lower parts pale yellowish-white, 
marked with longitudinal spots of brown, except the chin, vent, and 
thighs, which are white; the claws, black.— Norr. The St. Do- 
mingo bird appears to be a distinct species; in it the spots on the 
neck are round, and are wanting altogether at some periods of its 
existence. 


AQUILA. (Brisson.) EAGLE. 


Britt strong and elongated, straight at the base, Feet 
very robust; tarsus often feathered to the toes. Toes 
stout, armed with very large incurved nails; the middle 
one pectinated on the inner side and connected to the 
outer by amembrane. The wings long; the Ist, 2d and 
3d primaries shortest; the 4th and 5th longest. 

These are the most powerful birds of the tribe, and 
indeed of the whole feathered race. They pursue their 
prey with rapid flight, seizing it in their talons, and, 
bearing it yet palpitating to their young, they present it to 
them by tearing it to pieces. The greater kinds carry off 
large animals and birds; a few attack reptiles and even 
insects. Impelled by extreme hunger they sometimes feed 
upon carrion. Their sight is keen, but their sense of smell 
imperfect. The larger kinds inhabit and breed generally 
in mountainous districts. 


ROYAL OR GOLDEN EAGLE. 65 


ROYAL or GOLDEN EAGLE. 


(Aquila chrysaétos Swarx. Avpupon, pl. 81. Falco fulrus and 
F. chrysaétos. Lix. Witson, vii. p. 13. pl. 50. fig. 1. [young] ). 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark brown; cere and toes yellow; tail much 
rounded, extending beyond the folded wings; nostrils elliptic; 
3 scales only upon the last jomt of each toe; no white scapulary 
feathers. —Young of an uniform, ferruginous brown, and with 
the feathers nearly all white towards the base; tail white, with 
a broad terminal brown and mottled band, and no bars. 


Tus ancient monarch of the birds is found in all the 
cold and temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere, 
taking up his abode by choice in the great forests and 
plains, and in wild, desert, and mountainous regions. 
His eyry, commonly formed of an extensive set of 
layers of large sticks, is nearly horizontal, and occa- 
sionally extended between some rock and adjoining tree, 
as was the one described by Willughby in the Peak of 
Derbyshire. About 30 miles inland from the Mandan 
Fort on the Missouri, I once had occasion to observe the 
eyry of this noble bird, which here consisted of but a 
slender lining of sticks conveyed into a rocky chasm on 
the face of a lofty hill rising out of the grassy, open plain. 
Jt contained one young bird, nearly fledged, and almost of 
the color of the Gyrfalcon. It appears they lay 2 and rarely 
3 eggs, of an impure white, blotched with red or red- 
dish. Near their rocky nests they are seen usually in 
pairs, at times majestically soaring to a vast height, and 
gazing on the sun towards which they ascend until they 
disappear from view. Irom this sublime elevation they 
often select their devoted prey, sometimes a kid or a lamb 
from the sporting flock, or the timid rabbit or hare 
crouched in the furrow, or sheltered in some bush. The 
largest birds are also frequently their victims; and in 
extreme want they will not refuse to join with the alarmed 

6* 


66 BIRDS OF PREY. 


Vulture in his cadaverous repast. After this gorg- 
ing male the Eagle can, if necessary, fast for several 
days. The precarious nature of his subsistence, and 
the violence by which it is constantly obtained, seems 
to produce a moral effect on the disposition of this rapa- 
cious bird; though in pairs, they are never seen associ- 
ated with their young; their offspring are driven forth 
to lead the same unsocial, wandering life, as their un- 
feeling progenitors. This harsh and tyrannical disposi- 
tion is strongly displayed, even when they lead a life of 
restraint and confinement. The weaker bird is never 
willingly suffered to eat a single morsel; and though he 
may cower and quail under the blow, with the most ab- 
ject submission, the same savage deportment continues 
towards him as long as he exists. ‘Those which I have 
seen in confinement frequently uttered hoarse and stridu- 
lous cries, sometimes almost barkings, accompanied by 
vaporous breathings, strongly expressive of their ardent, 
unquenchable, and savage appetites. Their fire-dart- 
ing eyes, lowering brows, flat foreheads, restless disposi- 
tion, and terrific plaints, together with their powerful na- 
tural weapons, seem to assimilate them to the tiger rather 
than the timorous bird. Yet it would appear that they may 
be rendered docile, as the Tartars (according to Marco 
Paulo in 1269) were said to train this species to the 
chase of hares, foxes, wolves, antelopes, and other kinds 
of large game, in which it displayed all the docility of the 
Falcon. The longevity of the Eagle is as remarkable 
as its strength; it is believed to subsist for a century, 
and is about 3 years in gaining its complete growth and 
fixed plumage. This bird was held in high estimation 
by the ancients on account of its extraordinary magni- 
tude, courage, and sanguinary habits. The Romans 
chose it as an emblem for their imperial standard; and 


ROYAL OR GOLDEN EAGLE. 67 


from its aspiring flight and majestic soaring, it was fabled 
to hold communication with heaven, and to be the favorite 
messenger of Jove. ‘The Tartars have a particular esteem 
for the feathers of the tail, with which they supersti- 
tiously think to plume invincible arrows. It is no less 
the venerated War-Eagle of our northern and western 
aborigines; and the caudal feathers are extremely valu- 
ed for talismanic head-dresses, and as sacred decora- 
tions for the Pipe of Peace. 

The Eagle appears to be more abundant around Hud- 
son’s Bay than in the United States; but they are not 
unfrequent in the great plains of the Mississippi and 
Missouri, as appears from the frequent use of the feath- 
ers by the natives. The wilderness seems their favorite 
resort, and they neither crave nor obtain any advantage 
from the society of man. Attached to the mountains in 
which they are bred, it is a rare occurrence to see the 
Eagle in this vicinity; and, as with some other birds, 
it would appear that the young only are found in the 
United States, while the old remain in Labrador and 
the northern regions. The lofty mountains of New 
Hampshire afford suitable situations for the eyry of the 
Eagle, over whose snow-clad summits he is seen majes- 
tically soaring in solitude and grandeur. A young bird 
from this region, which I have seen in a state of domesti- 
cation, showed considerable docility. He had, however, 
been brought up from the nest, in which he was found 
in the month of August; he appeared even playful, turn- 
ing his head about in a very antic manner, as if desirous 
to attract attention ; still his glance was quick and fiery. 
When birds were given to him, he plumed them very 
clean before he began his meal, and picked the subject 
to a perfect skeleton. 

The ferocious and savage nature of the Eagle, in an 


68 BIRDS OF PREY. 


unreclaimed state, is sometimes displayed in a remarkable 
manner. A peasant attempted to rob an eyry of this bird 
situated in the lake of Killarney; for this purpose he 
stripped and swam over to the spot in the absence of the 
old birds; but, on his return, while yet up to the chin in 
water, the parents arrived, and missing their young, in- 
stantly fell on the unfortunate plunderer, and killed him 
on the spot. 

There are several well authenticated instances of their 
carrying off children to theirnests. In 1737, in the parish 
of Norderhougs, in Norway, a boy, over 2 years old, on 
his way from the cottage to his parents at work in the 
fields at no great distance, fell into the pounce of an 
Eagle, who flew off with the child in their sight and was 
seen no more. Anderson, in his history of Iceland, says, 
that in that island children of 4 or 5 years of age have 
occasionally been borne away by Eagles: and Ray relates, 
that in one of the Orkneys a child of a year old was 
seized in the talons of this ferocious bird, and carried 
about 4 miles to its nest; but the mother knowing the 
place of the eyry, followed the bird, and recovered her 
child yet unhurt. 

The Common, or Ring-tailed Eagle, is now found to be 
the young of the Golden Eagle. ‘These progressive changes 
have been observed by ‘'emminck on two living subjects 
which he kept for several years. | 


In the adult bird the summit of the head to the nape of the neck 
is ornamented with yellowish ferruginous pointed feathers; all the 
other parts of the body are of a dark brown, more or less inclining 
towards black according to age; the inner side of the thighs, and the 
feathers of the legs are of a clear brown. The primaries, in the old 
bird, or F. chrysaétos, according to Brisson have the inner barbs of 
the first 3 indented or shortened; in a specimen which I obtained in 
this vicinity, the first 4 are so indented, and in the young, or F. 
fulvus, the whole of the first 5 are shortened: so that this char- 


FISHING EAGLES, 69 


acter appears to advance with the age of the bird to a certain limit. 
Tail of a deep grey, banded somewhat regularly with blackish- 
brown, and terminated, towards the point, by a wide band of the 
same color. Bill horn color. Iris always brown. Cere and feet 
yellow. 

Length about 3 feet. The female as much as 3 feet 6 inches. 

In the young, of the first or second year, the whole plumage is of a 
ferruginous brown or clear reddish-yellow, with the under tail-coverts 
whitish ; the inner side of the legs and femorals pure white ; the tail 
white for 3 of its length, the rest brown. Nearly all the feathers are 
white towards their base. As the young advances in age, the plumage 
becomes browner, the white of the tail lessens in extent, and ap- 
pearances of transverse bars commence.— Very rarely, individuals 
occur almost wholly white. 


HALIATUS. (Savieny.) FISHING EAGLES. 


Tue lower half of the tarsus naked, with broad scales. 
The toes totally separated, the outer one versatile; the 
nails sharp and unequal. 

The birds of this genus are spread over Asia, Africa, 
the north of Europe and of America. ‘They dwell on the 
banks of rivers and also near the sea, living on fish, water 
birds and aquatic quadrupeds, 


SS 
NN 
N 

WN 
NY 
\ 


ZZ 


WASHINGTON EAGLE. 
(Halietus Washingtonii, AvpuBon. pl. 11. Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 3.) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Tail and upper parts dark brown, beneath reddish 
brown, with darker lines; cere and naked tarsus yellow; bill 
blackish. — Young, more or less spotted with white, particularly 
beneath. 


Ir is to the indefatigable Audubon, that we owe the 
distinct notice and description of this noble Eagle, which 


WASHINGTON EAGLE. 71 


first drew his attention while voyaging far up the Mis- 
Sissippi, in the month of February, 1814. At length, he 
had the satisfaction of discovering its evry in the high 
cliffs of Green River in Kentucky, near to its junction 
with the Ohio; two young were discovered loudly hissing 
from a fissure in the rocks, on the approach of the male, 
from whom they received a fish. The female now also 
came, and with solicitous alarm for the safety of her 
young, gave a loud scream, dropped the food she had 
brought, and hovering over the molesting party, kept up 
a growling and threatening cry by way of intimidation ; 
and, in fact, as our disappointed naturalist soon discovered, 
she, from this time, forsook the spot, and found means to 
convey away her young. ‘The discoverer considers the 
species as rare; indeed, its principal residence appears 
to be in the northern parts of the continent, particularly 
the rocky solitudes around the great north-western lakes, 
where it can at all times collect its finny prey, and rear its 
young without the dread of man. In the winter season, 
about January and February, as well as at a later period 
of the spring, these birds are occasionally seen in this 
vicinity,* rendered perhaps bolder and more familiar by 
want, as the prevalence of the ice and cold, at this season, 
drives them to the necessity of wandering farther than 
usual in search of food. At this early period, Audubon 
observed indications of the approach of the breeding sea- 
son. ‘They are sometimes seen contending in the air, so 
that one of the antagonists will suddenly drop many 
feet downwards as. if wounded or alarmed. My friend, 
Dr. Hayward, of Boston, had in his possession one of 
these fine docile Eagles for a considerable time; but 
desirous of devoting it to the then Linnean Museum, he 


* Cambridge, Mass. 


Tx BIRDS OF PREY. 


attempted to poison it, by corrosive sublimate of mercury ; 
several times, however, doses evenof 2 drams were given 
to it, concealed in fish, without producing any injurious 
effect on its health. 

The Washington Eagle, bold and vigorous, disdains 
the piratical habits of the Bald Eagle, and invariably ob- 
tains his own sustenance without molesting the Osprey. 
The circles he describes in his flight are wider than 
those of the White-headed Eagle; he also flies nearer to 
the land or the surface of the water; and when about to 
dive for his prey, he descends in circuitous, spiral rounds, 
as if to check the retreat of the fish, on which he darts 
only when within the distance of a few yards. When 
his prey is obtained, he flies out at a low elevation to a 
considerable distance to enjoy his repast at leisure. ‘The 
quantity of food consumed by this enormous bird is very 
great, according to the account of those who have had 
them in confinement. Mr. Audubon’s male bird weighed 
141 pounds avoirdupois. One in a small museum in Phil- 
adelphia (according to the account of my friend Mr. 
C. Pickering), also a male, weighed much more, by which 
difference it would appear that they are capable of be- 
coming exceedingly fat; for the length of this bird was 
about the same as that of Audubon, 3 feet 6 or 7 inches. 
The width, however, was only about 7 feet, agreeing pretty 
nearly with a specimen now in the New England Museum. 
The male of the Golden Eagle, the largest hitherto known, 
is seldom more than 3 feet long. 

That this bird is not the White-tailed Eagle (alco 
albicilla), or its young, the Sea Eagle (#" ossifragus), is 
obvious from the difference in size alone, the male of 
that bird being little over 2 feet 4 inches in length, or a 
little less even than the Bald Eagle. The female of the 
Washington Eagle must, of course, be 6 or 8 inches 


WASHINGTON EAGLE. vt}: 


longer, which will give a bird of unparalleled magnitude 
amongst the whole Eagle race. This measurement of 
the Sea Eagle is obtained from ‘'Temminck’s Manual of 
Ornithology,’ who has examined more than 59 individu- 
als. At the same time I have a suspicion that the Wash- 
ington Eagle, notwithstanding this, exists also in Europe ; 
as the great Sea Eagle of Brisson is described by this au- 
thor as being 3 feet 6 inches in length from the point of 
the bill to the end of the tail, and the stretch of the 
wings about 7 feet! These measurements also are adopt- 
ed by Buffon, but the individuals were evidently in young 
plumage, in which state, as described by Brisson, they 
again approach the present species. Nor need it be con- 
sidered as surprising if 2 different species be confounded 
in the Sea Eagle of Europe, as the recently established 
Imperial Eagle had ever been confounded with the Golden. 
Another distinguishing trait of the Washington Eagle is 
in the length of the tail, which is 14 inches longer than 
the folded wings. In the White-tailed species this part 
never extends beyond the wings. 


The upper parts of the body were generally, in the adult, described 
by Audubon, of a dark, shining, coppery-brown. The throat, front 
of the neck, breast, and belly, of a rich and bright cinnamon color, 
the feathers of the whole of which were long, narrow, sharp-pointed 
and of a somewhat hairy texture, each dashed along the centre with 
the dark brown of the back. Lesser wing-coverts rusty iron-grey, 
the same color extending from the shoulders to the lower end of the 
secondaries, and gradually passing into the brown of the back as it 
meets the scapulars. Primaries brown, darker on their inner yanes, 
very broad and firm; the outer 24 inches shorter than the 2d, the 
longest 24 inches to its roots, and about 4 an inch in diameter at the 
barrel. [In Mr. Pickering’s specimen, the longest quill gave 253 
inches, and in a specimen of the Bald Eagle the same corresponding 
feather gave only 224 inches, though the specimen was a female.] 
The under wing-coverts iron-grey. Foot warty beneath like a rasp, 
enabling the bird to secure its slippery prey. Leg feathers brown- 


~ 
‘ 


74 BIRDS OF PREY. 


cinnamon, pointed backwards. Iris hazel, inclining to chesnut. 
The head more convex than in the Bald Eagle, and the bill more 


hooked at the point. 


iif 
My 
Mie My 


YUM 
ty Y yy 
yf y) 


ay Wy LE, Lif y= Wye 
EZ GEEZ eZ 
oD LL 


YY 
Ys EEE 


WHITE-HEADED or BALD EAGLE. 


(Halietus leucocephalus, Aun. pl. 31. Falco leucocephalus. Linn. 
Witson. iv. p. 89. pl. 36. [adult,] and vii. p. 16. pl. 55. f. 2. [young ; 
as the Sea Eagle.] 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark brown; head and tail white ; tail extending 
beyond the folded wings; cere, bill, and feet yellow; iris whitish- 
yellow. — Young, spotted and varied irregularly with darker and 
lighter brown ; bill black ; irids pale brown. 


Tuts noble and daring Eagle is found along the sea- 
coasts, lakes, and rivers throughout the northern regions, 
being met with in Asia, Europe, and America, where they 


= 
WHITE-HEADED OR BALD EAGLE. io 


extend to the shores of the Pacific and as far as the con- 
fines of California. In Behring’s isle, Mackenzie’s river, 
and Greenland, they are not uncommon. But while they 
are confined in the old world to this cheerless region, so 
constantly, that only two* instances are known of their 
appearance in the centre of Europe, in the United States, 
they are most abundant in the milder latitudes, residing, 
breeding, and rearing their young in all the intermediate 
space from Nova Scotia or Labrador to the shores of the 
Gulf of Mexico. The rocky coast of this part of New 
England (Massachusetts), is however seldom tenanted by 
this species though they are occasionally seen in the spring, 
and about the commencement of winter. In the United 
States it is certain that they show a decided predilection 
for the milder climates. It is probable, that in Europe 
they are deterred in their migrations by the tyrannical 
persecution of the White-tailed Eagle (£. albicilla) 
which abounds in that country, living also principally 
on fish and therefore selecting the same maritime situa- 
tions as our Eagle. In the United States, he sways almost 
without control the whole coast of the Atlantic, and has 
rendered the rival Osprey his humble tributary, proscribing, 
in his turn, the appearance of the Sea Eagle, which, if it 
exist at all with us, is equally as rare as the present species 
appears to be in Europe. 

Though on Behring’s Isle the Bald Eagle is said to nest 
on cliffs, as the only secure situation that probably offers, 
in the United States, he usually selects, near the sea-coast, 
some lofty pine or cypress tree for his eyry; this is built 
of large sticks, several feet in length, forming a floor, 
within and over which are laid sods of earth, hay, moss, 


* One of these, an old male, was killed in the Canton of Zurich in Switzerland 
the other, a very old female, in the kingdom of Wurtemburg. 


~ 
76 BIRDS OF PREY. 


dry reeds, sedge-grass, pine tops, and other coarse mate- 
rials, piled after several incubations to the height of 5 or 
6 feet, and 4 or 5 feet in breadth. On this almost level 
bed the female early in February deposits 2 dull white 
eggs, one of which is said sometimes to be laid after an 
interval so considerable that the young are hatched at 
different periods. Lawson, however, says, that they breed 
so often as to commence laying again under their callow 
young, whose warmth assists the hatching of the eggs. 
This eyry or breeding-place continues to be perpetually 
occupied and repaired as long as the tree endures; indeed 
their attachment to particular places is so strong, that after 
their habitation has been demolished, by the destruction of 
the tree that supported it, they have very contentedly taken 
possession of an adjoining one. Nor is the period of in- 
cubation the only time spent in the nest by this species ; 
it is a shelter and common habitation at all times and 
seasons, being a home like the hut to the savage, or the 
cottage to the peasant. : 

The helpless young, as might be supposed, are fed with 
great attention, and supplied with such a superfluity of 
fish and other matters, that they often lie scattered around 
the tree, producing the most putrid and noisome efiluvia. 
The young are at first clothed with a whitish down; they 
gradually become grey, and continue of a brownish grey 
until the 8d year, when the characteristic white of the 
head and tail becomes perfectly developed. As their food 
is abundant, the young are not forcibly driven from the 
nest, but fed for some time after they have left it. They 
are by no means shy or timorous, will often permit a near 
approach, and sometimes even bristle up their feathers in 
an attitude of daring defence. Their cry is sonorous and 
lamentable, like that of the Great Eagle, and when asleep 
they are said to make a very audible snoring sound. 


WHITE-HEADED OR BALD EAGLE. ra! 


The principal food of the Bald Eagle is fish, and though 
he possesses every requisite of alertness and keenness of 
vision for securing his prey, it is seldom that he obtains 
it by any other means than stratagem and rapine. For 
this habitual daring purpose, he is often seen perching 
upon the naked limb of some lofty tree which commands 
an extensive view of the ocean; in this attitude of expec- 
tation he heedlessly surveys the active employment of the 
feathered throng, which course along the wavy strand, or 
explore the watery deep with beating wing, until from 
afar he attentively scans the motions of his provider, the 
ample-winged and hovering Osprey. At length, the wa- 
tery prey is espied, and the feathered fisher descends 
like a falling rock; cleaving the wave, he now bears his 
struggling victim from the deep, and mounting in the air, 
utters an exulting scream. At this signal, the Eagle 
pirate gives chase to the fortunate fisher, and soaring 
above him, by threatening attitudes obliges him to relin- 
quish his prey; the Eagle, now poising for a surer aim, 
descends like an arrow, and snatching his booty before it 
arrives at the water, retires to the woods to consume it at 
leisure. These perpetual depredations on the industrious 
Osprey sometimes arouse him to seek for vengeance, and 
several occasionally unite to banish their tyrannical invader. 
When greatly pressed by hunger, the Bald Eagle has some- 
times been observed to attack the Vulture in the air, 
obliging him to disgorge the carrion in his craw, which he 
snatches up before it reaches the ground. He is some- 
times seen also to drive away the Vultures, and feed vora- 
ciously on their carrion. Besides fish, he preys upon 
Ducks, Geese, Gulls, and other sea-fowl, and when the 
resources of the ocean diminish, or fail from any cause, 
particularly on the southern migration of the Osprey, his 
inland depredations are soon notorious, young lambs, pigs, 


7* 


78 BIRDS OF PREY. 


fawns, and even deer often becoming his prey. So indis- 
criminate indeed is the fierce’ appetite of this bold bird, 
that instances are credibly related of their carrying away 
infants. An attempt of this kind, according to Wilson, 
was made upon a child lying by its mother as she was 
weeding a garden at Great Egg-Harbor in New Jersey; 
but the garment seized upon by the Eagle giving way at 
the instant of the attempt, the life of the child was spared. 
I have heard of another instance said to have happened 
at Petersburgh, in Georgia, near the Savannah river, where 
an infant, sleeping in the shade near the house, was seized 
and carried to the eyry near the edge of a swamp 5 miles 
distant, and when found, almost immediately, the child 
was dead. ‘The story of the Eagle and child, in ‘‘ The 
history of the house of Stanley,’ now the crest of that 
family, shows the credibility of the exploit, as supposed to 
have been effected by the White-tailed Eagle, so nearly 
related to the present. Indeed, about the year 1745, some 
Scotch reapers, accompanied by the wife of one of them 
with an infant, repaired to an island in Loch Lomond; 
the mother laid down her child in the shade at no great 
distance from her, and while she was busily engaged in 
labor, an Eagle of this kind suddenly darted upon the 
infant, and immediately bore it away to its rocky eyry on 
the summit of Ben Lomond. The alarm of this shocking 
event was soon spread; and a considerable party, hurry- 
ing to the rescue, fortunately succeeded in recovering the 
child alive. 

The Bald Eagle, like most of the large species, takes 
wide circuits in its flight and soars at great heights. In 
these sublime attitudes he may often be seen hovering over 
water-falls and lofty cataracts, particularly that of the 
famous Niagara, where he watches for the fate of those 


WHITE-HEADED OR BALD EAGLE. 79 


unfortunate fish and other animals that are destroyed in 
the descent of the tumultuous waters. 


In the adult, at the age of 3 years, all the plumage of the body 
and of the wings is of a deep and very lively brown or chocolate 
color ; the head and upper part of the neck, as well as the tail and 
its coverts, are of a pure white, (but in the female incline a little 
to straw-color). The bill, cere, and feet yellow, with the sole of the 
feet rough and warty, suited for holding slippery objects. The iris 
whitish-yellow. The female about 3 feet long, with the stretch of 
the wings about 7 feet. The male 2 or 3 inches shorter. — In the 
first year, the white of the head and neck is blended with greyish- 
brown. These parts are variegated with the two colors in the 
second year. 

The young of the first year are distinguished with difficulty from 
the young of the White-tailed Eagle; their plumage is however less 
regularly varied with brown colors, and the tail is always somewhat 
longer. 


PANDION. (Savic.) OSPREY. 


Brix rounded above, and with the cere hispid; nostrils 
obliquely curved; membranaceous on the upper edge. 
Tarsi naked, reticulated, rough; toes divided to the base, 
the outer versatile; nails equal and rounded beneath. 
Wings long; Ist primary equal with the 3d; the 2d 
longest. 

Of a cowardly disposition, and living on fish, they inhabit 
near waters, retiring from them, when frozen, to warmer 
climates. ‘They seize their prey in their talons near the 
surface of the water, or plunge for it as occasion requires; 
they very rarely hunt birds. 


Ws 


FISH-HAWK, or OSPREY. 


(Pandion Haliatus, Bonar. Falco halietus. Linn. Avpvupon, pl. 81. 
Witson, v. p. 13, pl. fig. 1. Pandien carolinensis, Bonar. p. 3. 
Falco carolinensis, GMELIN.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark brown, beneath white ; cere and feet grey- 
ish-blue. — Female with the breast thinly spotted with pale brown. 
— Young, nearly all the feathers above terminated with yellowish- 


white tips. 


Turis large and well known species, allied to the 
Eagles, is found near fresh and salt water in almost 
every country in the world. In summer it wanders into 
the arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and America; it is 
also equally prevalent in the milder parts of both con- 


FISH-HAWK OR OSPREY. 81 


tinents, as in Greece and Egypt. In America it is found 
in the summer from Labrador, and the interior around 
Hudson’s Bay, to Florida; and, according to Buffon, it 
extends its residence to the tropical regions of Cayenne. 

Its food being almost uniformly fish, it readily acquires 
subsistence as long as the waters remain unfrozen; but 
at the commencement of cool weather, even as early as 
the close of September, or at farthest the middle of Octo- 
ber, they leave New York and New Jersey, and migrate 
further south. This early period of departure is, in all 
probability, like their arrival towards the close of March, 
wholly regulated by the coming and going of the shoals 
of fish on which they are accustomed to feed.* Their 
arrival in the spring is welcomed by the fisherman, as 
the sure indication of the approach of those shoals of 
shad, herring, and other kinds of fish which now begin 
to throng the bays, inlets, and rivers near the ocean; 
and the abundance with which the waters teem affords 
ample sustenance for both the aérial and_ terrestrial 
fishers, as each pursues in peace his favorite and neces- 
sary employment. In short, the harmless industry of the 
Osprey, the familiarity with which he rears his young 
around the farm, his unexpected neutrality towards all 
the domestic animals near him, his sublimely picturesque 
flight, and remarkable employment, with the strong af- 
fection displayed towards his constant mate and long 
helpless young, and the wrongs he hourly suffers from 
the pirate Eagle, are circumstances sufficiently calcu- 
lated, without the aid of ready superstition, to ensure the 
public favor and tolerance towards this welcome visitor. 
Driven to no harsh necessities, like his superiors, the 


* Towards the close of March, or beginning of April, they arrive in the vicinity 
of Boston with the first shoal of alewives or herrings, but yet are seldom known to 
breed along the coast of Massachusetts. 


82 BIRDS OF PREY. 


Eagles, he leads a comparatively harmless life; and 
though unjustly doomed to servitude, his address and 
industry raise him greatly above his oppressor, so that 
he supplies himself and his young with a plentiful sus- 
tenance. His adroitness and docility in catching fish 
have also sometimes been employed by man for his ad- 
vantage. 

Intent on exploring the sea for his food, he leaves the 
nest and proceeds directly to the scene of action, sail- 
ing round in easy and wide circles, and turning at 
times as on a pivot, apparently without exertion, while 
his long and curving wings seem scarcely in motion. 
At the height of from 100 to 200 feet he continues to 
survey the bosom of the deep. Suddenly he checks his 
course and hovers in the air, with beating pinions; he 
then descends with rapidity, but the wily victim has 
escaped. Now he courses near the surface, and by a 
dodging descent, scarcely wetting his feet, he seizes a 
fish, which he sometimes drops or yields to the greedy 
Eagle; but, not discouraged, he again ascends in spiral 
sweeps, to regain the higher regions of the air, and re- 
new his survey of the watery expanse. His prey again 
espied, he descends perpendicularly like a falling plum- 
met, plunging into the sea with a loud rushing noise, 
and with an unerring aim. Jn an instant he emerges 
with the struggling prey in his talons, shakes off the wa- 
ter from his feathers, and now directs his laborious course 
to land, beating in the wind with all the skill of a prac- 
tised seaman. The fish which he thus carries may be 
sometimes from 6 to 8 pounds; and so firm sometimes is 
the penetrating grasp of his talons, that when, by mistake, 
he engages with one which is too large, he is dragged 
beneath the waves, and at length both fish and bird 
perish. 


FISH-HAWK OR OSPREY. 8&3 


From the nature of his food, his flesh, and even the eggs, 
are rendered exceedingly rank and nauseous. Though 
his prey is generally taken in the bold and spirited manner 
described, he sometimes sits on a tree over a pond for an 
hour at a time, quietly waiting its expected approach. 

Unlike other rapacious birds the Ospreys may be almost 
considered gregarious, breeding so near each other, that, 
according to Mr. Gardiner, there were on the small island 
on which he resided, near to the eastern extremity of 
Long Island (New York), no less than 300 nests with 
young. Wilson observed 20 of their nests within half a 
mile. JI have seen them nearly as thick about Rehoboth 
Bay, in Delaware. Here they live together at least as 
peaceably as rooks; and so harmless are they considered 
by other birds, that, according to Wilson, the Crow-Black- 
birds, or Grakles, are sometimes allowed refuge by the 
Ospreys, and construct their nests in the very interstices 
of their eyry. It would appear sometimes, that, as with 
Swallows, a general assistance is given in the constructing 
of a new nest; for, previous to this event, a flock have 
been seen to assemble in the same tree, squealing as is 
their custom when any thing materially agitates them. 
At times they are also seen engaged in social gambols 
high in the air, making loud vociferations, suddenly dart- 
ing down, and then sailing in circles; and these innocent 
recreations, like many other unmeaning things, are con- 
strued into prognostications of stormy or changing weather. 
Their common friendly call is a kind of shrill whistle, 
‘phew, *phew,’phew, repeated 5 or 6 times, and somewhat 
similar to the tone of a fife. Though social, they are 
sometimes seen to combat in the air, instigated probably 
more by jealousy than a love of rapine, as their food is 
always obtained from an unfailing source. 

The ancients, particularly Aristotle, pretended that the 


84 BIRDS OF PREY. 


Ospreys taught their young to gaze at the sun, and that 
those who were unable to do so were destroyed. Linnus 
even believed, on ancient authority, that one of the feet of 
this bird had all the toes divided while the other was 
partly webbed, so that it could swim with one foot, and 
grasp a fish in the other. Aristotle likewise remarked, 
that the young of the White-tailed Eagle were driven from 
the nest before they could feed themselves, and that they 
would perish but for the aid and education which they 
received from the Osprey.* This opinion arose, no doubt, 
from the fact, that that species, no less than the Bald 
Eagle, is in the habit of plundering the Fish-Hawk for its 
sustenance. 

The Fish-Hawk, according to the convenience of the 
site where it takes up its abode, forms its nest upon rocks, 
more rarely upon the ground among reeds, or amidst ru- 
ined and deserted buildings, or on trees; the last situation, 
however, appears to be preferred in the United States. It 
is commonly situated at a considerable elevation, and, like 
the eyry of the Eagle, continues to be occupied as long as 
the tree exists. The materials, however, of which the 
nest is composed are often of such a nature, and in such 
quantity, as to hasten the decay of its support. The fol- 
lowing, according, to Wilson, is the ordinary composition 
of this rude but substantial fabric. The external floor is 
made of large sticks, from 4 an inch to 1} inches in diam- 
eter, and 2 or 3 feet in length; these are piled to the 
height of 4 or 5 feet, and from 2 to 3 feet in breadth, the 
whole intermixed with corn-stalks, sea-weeds, and mullein- 
stems, filled in with large quantities of turf, and lined with 
the dry sea-grass (or Zostera marina); the materials so 


* Buffon considers the bird here alluded to as the Sea Eagle, which is, however, 
only the young of the White-tailed species. 


FISH-HAWK OR OSPREY. 85 


well matted together as often to adhere in large pieces 
after being blown down by the wind, and forming a mass 
observable at the distance of half a mile, and sufficient to 
form a cart-load for a horse.* As with the Rooks, they 
repair their nests in the autumn, previous to their southern 
emigration. 

Early in May the Osprey commences laying, and has 
from 2 to4eggs. They are a little larger than those of 
the common fowl, and are from a reddish or yellowish 
cream color to nearly white, marked with large blotches 
and points of reddish brown. During the period of incu- 
bation the male frequently supplies his mate with food, and 
she leaves her eggs for very short intervals. 

The young appear about the last of June, and are most 
assiduously attended and supplied. On the approach of 
any person towards the nest, the parent utters a peculiar 
plaintive, whistling note, which increases as it takes to 
wing, sailing round, and at times making a quick descent, 
as if aiming at the intruder, but sweeping past at a short 
distance. On the nest being invaded, either while con- 
taining eggs or young, the male displays great courage, 
and makes a violent and dangerous opposition. The 
young remain a long time in the nest, so that the old are 
sometimes obliged to thrust them out, and encourage them 
to fly; but they still, for a period, continue to feed them 
in the air by supplying them with fish from their talons. 


The length of the male Osprey is from 21 to 22 inches. The 
female is about 2 feet. The summit of the head, and particularly the 
upper part of the neck, is furnished with long and narrow feathers, 
darkish in the middle, and edged with yellowish white ; these feath- 


* According to Edman, the Osprey, in Sweden, makes its nest in the highest 
trees, chiefly of Pine tops, and lines it with the leaves of the Polypody (Poylpo- 
dium vulgare), a structure, as to materials, extremely different from that of our 
bird. 


8 


86 BIRDS OF PREY. 


ers are erectile at the will of the animal. Upper parts dark brown; 
there is often a white band above the eyes; a long band of deep 
brown along the sides of the neck. Lower parts white; upon the 
breast some faint fawn-colored or yellowish traces; plumage of the 
thighs streaked down the fore-part with pale brown. Cere and feet 
pale greyish blue; the latter very large, covered with scales, and 
rough beneath like a rasp, (for the purpose of holding its finny prey.) 
Tail crossed with 8 bars of very dark brown, (only six in the Euro- 
pean, according to Temminck.) Iris fiery yellow. Bill black. The 
wings (according to Wilson) extend about an inch beyond the tail 
(more than two inches, Temminck.) — When young they have more 
or fewer fawn-colored spots beneath. The feathers of the upper parts 
are terminated with yellowish white margins; also a considerable 
space upon the breast of a pale fawn-color spotted with brown; the 
feet likewise darker. 


ASTUR. (Cuvier.) HAWK. 


Tue bill strong; with the tooth or lobe of the upper 
mandible well defined. Nostrils roundish, or inclining to 
oval and oblique. Tarsi rather long, shielded with a row 
of parallel scales. ‘The middle toe much longer than the 
side ones ; the outer connected at the base by a membrane, 
and shorter than the inner. The nails are long, much 
curved, and very acute. — Wings short; the first primary 
much shorter than the 2d, the 4th longest. The female 
similar in color with the male, but a third larger. 

These are bold, sanguinary, and malignant birds; skim- 
ming the earth with a rapid flight, seizing their prey upon 
the wing, and sometimes pouncing upon it from above. 
They are not inclined to soar at great elevations, and only 
describe wide circles in their flight about the commence- 
ment of the breeding season. 


AMERICAN GOSHAWK. 87 


AMERICAN GOSHAWK. 


(Astur atricapillus, Bonar. Falco atricapillus, Witson. Am. Orn. 
vi. p. 80. pl. 52. fig. 3. F. regalis, Temmincx. Philadelphia Mu- 
seum, No. 406. Astur palumbarius, Aupvs. pl. 141.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark bluish-grey ; eye-brows nearly white ; be- 
neath white, everywhere transversely and narrowly banded and 
longitudinally lined with dark brown; tail ash-colored, banded 
with dark brown; cere greenish-yellow.— Young, dusky brown, 
skirted with ferruginous; beneath yellowish-white with oblong 
spots of dark brown ; tail with 4 dark bands and tipped with white. 


Tue foreign representative of this elegant and spirited 
species of Hawk appears to be common in France, Ger- 
many, the northern parts of Great Britain, Russia, and 
Siberia, and extends into Chinese Tartary. Our species, 
so nearly related to the European bird, is very rare, mi- 
grating to the south apparently at the approach of winter. 
On the 26th of October, 1830, I received one of these ~ 
birds from the proprietor of Fresh Pond Hotel, in the 
moult, having the stomach crammed with moles and mice, 
and it was shot in the act of devouring a Pigeon. 

The Goshawk was held in considerable esteem for fal- 
conry, and, according to Bell, was employed for this 
amusement by the emperor of China, who moved some- 
times to these excursions in great state, often bearing a 
hawk on his hand, to let fly at any game that might be 
raised ; which was usually Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, 
or Cranes. In 1269, Marco Paulo witnessed this diver- 
sion of the emperor, which probably had existed for many 
ages previous. The Falconers distinguished these birds 
of sport into two classes, namely, those of falconry pro- 
perly so called, and those of hawking; and in this second 
and inferior class, were included the Goshawk, the Spar- 
row-hawk, Buzzard, and Harpy. This species does not 


88 BIRDS OF PREY. 


soar so high as the longer-winged Hawks, and darts upon 
its quarry by a side glance, not by a direct descent, like 
the true Ialcon. They were caught in nets baited with 
live Pigeons, and reduced to obedience by the same system 
of privation and discipline as the Falcon. 

A pair of these birds were kept for a long time in a cage 
by Buffon; he remarks, that the female was at least a 
third larger than the male, and the wings, when closed, 
did not reach within 6 inches of the end of the tail. The 
male, though smaller, was much more fierce and untam- 
able. They often fought with their claws, but seldom used 
the bill for any other purpose than tearing their food. If 
this consisted of birds, they were plucked as neatly as by 
the hand of the poulterer; but mice were swallowed 
whole, and the hair and skin, and other indigestible parts, 
after the manner of the genus, were discharged from the 
mouth rolled up in little balls. Its cry was raucous, and 
terminated by sharp, reiterated, piercing notes, the more 
disagreeable the oftener they were repeated, and the cage 
could never be approached without exciting violent ges- 
tures and screams. Though of different sexes, and con- 
fined to the same cage, they contracted no friendship for 
each other which might soothe their imprisonment, and 
finally, to end the dismal picture, the female, in a fit of 
indiscriminate rage and violence, murdered her mate in 
the silence of the night, when all the other feathered race 
were wrapped in repose. Indeed their dispositions are so 
furious, that a Goshawk, left with any other Falcons, soon 
effects the destruction of the whole. Their ordinary food is 
young rabbits, squirrels, mice, moles, young geese, pigeons, 
and small birds, and, with a cannibal appetite, they some- 
times even prey upon the young of their own species. They 
construct their nests in the highest trees, and lay from 2 to 
A eggs of a bluish-white, marked with lines and spots of 


COOPER’S HAWK. 89 


brown. ‘The egg of our bird, according to Audubon, is 
without spots. 


The length of this American kind is, according to Wilson, 21 
inches ; the male individual in my possession was 25 inches long, and 
87 inches in the stretch of the wings. The European is 2 feet 
(French) for the male, and a 3d, or 8 inches, less (16 inches), for the 
female. Our bird is therefore much larger, and the wings extend to 
within 2 inches of the end of the tail; it is likewise darker on the 
head, and has a broad dusky stripe passing from the eye to the back 
of the head which is pale ; the under parts also, to the vent, are not 
merely barred with a single line, but each feather is crossed by nu- 
merous zig-zag, undulating, dark lines, longitudinally crossed by a 
central line of the same color, and the vent is also white. Wilson’s 
name may therefore be retained for this peculiar American species. 
The bill is blackish-blue; the cere and legs yellow. Inrids orange 
yellow. The superciliary line very distinct and nearly white, pro- 
ceeding backwards to meet on the hind-head. Above, the plumage 
is dark cinereous, tinged with brown ; the primaries somewhat lighter. 
Legs feathered half way down. Tail mottled with about 5 imper- 
fect bands of dark brown, chiefly visible on the inner vanes; the 
central tail feathers dark grey, with about 4 imperfect, broad, dusky 
bars. 


COOPER’S HAWK. 


(Astur Cooperit, Bonar. Avp. pl. 36. Falco Cooperii, Bonar, Am. 
Orn. 11. pl. 10. fig. 1. [young]. Philadelphia Museum, No. 403. 
Falco Stanleyt, Aun. pl. 141, [adult male.] ) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Tail rounded, with 4 blackish bands, and tipped 
with white; wings extending, when folded, to the 2d band; 2d 
quill nearly equal in length to the 6th, and the 3d to the 5th. 
Length 18 or more inches. — Young, dusky brown, skirted with 
furruginous ; beneath white, with oblanceolate, dusky brown spots. 


Tuts fine species of Hawk is found in considerable num- 
bers in the Middle States, particularly New York and New 
Jersey, in the autumn, and at the approach of winter. They 
are also seen in the Oregon Territory to the shores of the 


S* 


90 BIRDS OF PREY. 


Pacific. His food appears principally to be birds of various 
kinds; from the Sparrow to the Ruffed Grous, all contribute 
to his rapacious appetite. Ihave also seen this species as far 
south as the capital of Alabama, and in common with the 
preceding, his depredations among the domestic fowls are 
very destructive. Mr. Cooper informs me that the plu- 
mage of the adult male bears the same analogy to the 
adult of #. fuscus, as the young of that species does to 
the present, excepting that the rufous tints are paler. The 
difference in size between the two is as 2, or even 3, to 1. 


The length of this species is about 18 inches ; and nearly 30 in alar 
extent. The general color of the young bird above is chocolate 
brown, and the head and neck blackish, edged with rufous and white. 
The body beneath is white, the feathers being marked each with a 
long, dusky stripe down the shafts, which spots become broader and 
oblanceolate on the breast and flanks. The vent and lower tail coverts 
white. The wings about 9 inches long, and when folded, scarcely 
extend to the 2d bar of the tail; the quills crossed by blackish bands. 
Ist primary very short, more so than the secondaries; 2d equal to the 
6th, and the 3d to the 5th, the 2 last being scarcely shorter than the 
4th, which, as in all the birds of this section, is the longest. Tail 8 
inches, extending 5 beyond the wings, ashy brown, tipped with 
whitish, and crossed by 4 equidistant blackish bands. Legs and feet 
yellow. The cere greenish-yellow. Iris bright yellow. — Female, 
2 inches longer, but with similar plumage. 


AMERICAN BROWN or SLATE-COLORED 
HAWK. 


(Astur fuscus, Avp. pl. 374. Falco fuscus, Gmeix. F. pennsylvani- 
cus, Witson, vi. p. 13. pl. 46. fig. 1. [adult male], and F. veloz, 
(Sharp-shinned Hawk), Ini. v. p. 116. pl. 45. fig. 1. [young fe- 
male]. Boyar. Ann. Lye. vol. ii. p. 434. Accipiter fuscus, IpiD. 
Birds of Europe and Am. p. 0.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Tail even, with 4 blackish bands, and tipped with 
white ; wings extending to the 2d band ; 2d primary much shorter 
than the 6th; and the 3d than the 5th. Length about 12 inches — 


AMERICAN BROWN OR SLATE-COLORED HAWK, 91 


Adult, dark slate-color, beneath white, broadly barred with ferrugi- 
nous.— Young, dark brown, skirted with ferruginous ; beneath 
white, with narrow, oblong, ferruginous spots. 


Tuts bold and daring species possesses all the coura- 
geous habits and temerity of the true Falcon; and, if the 
princely amusement to which these birds were devoted, 
were now in existence, few species of the genus would be 
found more sanguinary and pugnacious than the present. 
The young bird is described by Pennant under the name 
of the dubious Falcon, and he remarks its affinity to the 
European Sparrow-Hawk. It is, however, somewhat less, 
differently marked on the head, and much more broadly 
and faintly barred below. ‘The nest of our species, ac- 
cording to Audubon, is made in a tree, and the eggs are 4 or 
5, greyish-white, blotched with dark brown; they lay about 
the beginning to the middle of March. The true Sparrow- 
Hawk shows considerable docility, is easily trained to hunt 
Partridges and Quails; and makes great destruction among 
Pigeons, young poultry, and small birds of all kinds. In 
the winter they migrate from Europe into Barbary and 
Greece, and are seen in great numbers out at sea, making 
such havock among the birds of passage they happen to 
meet in their way, that the sailors in the Mediterranean 
call them Corsairs. Wilson observed the female of our 
species descend upon its prey with great velocity in a sort 
of zig-zag pounce, after the manner of the Goshawk. 
Descending furiously and blindly upon its quarry, a young 
Hawk of this species broke through the glass of the green- 
house, at the Cambridge Botanic Garden; and fearlessly 
passing through a second glass partition, he was only 
brought up by the third, and caught, though little stunned 
by the effort. His wing-feathers were much torn by the 
glass, and his flight in this way so impeded as to allow of 


G2 BIRDS OF PREY 


his being approached. This species feeds principally upon 
mice, lizards, smal] birds, and sometimes even squirrels. 
In the thinly settled states of Georgia and Alabama, this 
Hawk seems to abound, and proves extremely destructive 
to young chickens, a single bird having been known reg- 
ularly to come every day until he had carried away. be- 
tween 20 and 30. At noon-day, while I was conversing 
with a planter, one of these Hawks came down, and with- 
out any ceremony, or heeding the loud cries of the house- 
wife, who most reluctantly witnessed the robbery, snatched 
away a chicken directly before us. At another time, near 
Tuscaloosa, in Alabama, I observed a pair of these birds 
furiously attack the large Red-tailed Hawk, squalling very 
loudly, and striking him on the head until they had en- 
tirely chased him out of sight. This enmity appeared to 
arise from a suspicion, that the Buzzard was prowling 
round the farm house for the poultry, which these Hawks 
seemed to claim as their exclusive perquisite. As this was, 
however, the 13th of February, these insulting marauders 
might possibly be already preparing to breed, and thus be 
incited to drive away every suspicious intruder approach- 
ing their nest. In fine weather, I have observed this 
species soar to a great elevation, and ascend above the 
clouds; in this exercise as usual, the wings seem but little 
exercised, the ascent being made ina sort of swimming 
gyration, though while near the surface of the earth the 
motion of the wings in this bird is rapid and continuous. 


The male of this species is 12 inches long, and 21 inches in extent, 
(the female 14 inches long, and 25 in stretch of the wings.) The bill 
is bluish-black. Cere greenish-yellow. Eye-brows strongly pro- 
jecting. The iris reddish orange. The upper parts of a deep slate- 
blue, the feathers shafted with black. Primaries brownish-black, 
barred with dusky; lining of the wing crowded with heart-shaped 
black spots. Tail 3 inches longer than the wings, nearly even, ash- 
colored, crossed with 4 broad bands of black, and tipped with white. 


MISSISSIPPI KITE. 93 


Over the eye extends a narrow stripe of dull white. Chin 
white, mixed with black hairs. Breast, belly, and femorals, varie- 
gated with broad, transverse, brownish spots. Vent pure white 
Legs long, slender, and bright yellow. Claws black, remarkably 
sharp and large. — In a young female which I obtained, of the length 
of about 14 inches, the feathers of the breast and sides are marked 
with broadish transverse pale brown bars, which are terminated with 
pointed oblanceolate spots. This particular stage of plumage appear- 
ed to be anterior to the last. 


PC PINIA, (Vietior.) ICTINIA, 


Bix short, narrowed above; the upper mandible angu- 
larly lobed ; the lower distinctly notched; cere glabrous; 
nostrils rounded. ‘Tarsi short, slender, scutellated (or 
covered in front with a row of broad scales) feathered for 
a short space; the outer toe connected at base by a mem- 
brane. The nails short and not very acute. — Wings very 
long, extending to the end of the tail. 3d primary long- 
est. ‘Tail nearly even. 


Bold species ; feeding on small birds, reptiles, &c., but chiefly on 
insects. They fly out in easy sailing circles at a considerable eleva- 
tion.— Nore. The birds of this section appear to be intermediate 
between the Falcons and true Kites, and in manners they are some- 
what related to the Buzzards. 


MISSISSIPPI KITE. 


* 

(Ictinia plumbea, Viriti. Bonar. Avupus. pl. 117. Falco plumbeus, 
Gein. Bonar. Annal. Lye. p. 30. Falco Mississippiensis, W11- 
son. Am. Orn. i. p. 80. pl. 25. fig. 1. [adult male]. ) 

Spec. Cuaracr. — Blackish-ash ; head, neck, and beneath whitish-ash 
color; the tail and cere black ; feet and irids bright red. — Young, 
bluish-black ; head and beneath whitish, spotted with bluish-brown ; 
the tail with 3 white bands beneath ; the cere yellowish. 


Tus remarkably long-winged and beautiful Hawk does 
not appear to extend its migrations far within the United 


94 BIRDS OF PREY. 


States. Wilson observed it rather plentiful about, and 
below Natchez, in the summer season, sailing in easy cir- 
cles, sometimes at a great elevation, so as to keep company 
with the Turkey-Buzzards in the most elevated regions of 
the air: at other times they were seen among the lofty 
forest trees, like Swallows sweeping along, and collecting 
the locusts (Cicade) which swarmed at this season. My 
friend Mr. Say observed this species pretty far up the Mis- 
sissippi, at one of Major Long’s cantonments. But, except 
on the banks of this great river, they are rarely seen even 
in the most southern states. Their food, no doubt, abounds 
more along the immense valley of the Mississippi than in 
the interior regions, and, besides large insects, probably 
often consists of small birds, lizards, snakes, and other 
reptiles, which swarm in these their favorite resorts. On 
the failure of their food, they migrate by degrees into the 
Mexican and South-American provinces; and were ob- 
served by D’Azara in Guiana, about the latitude of 7 
degrees. According to Audubon this bird breeds in the 
Southern states, as well as in Texas, selecting the tall Mag- 
nolias and white oaks. The eggs are 2 or 3, greenish- 
white, blotched with black and dark-brown. From the 
narrow limits within which this bird inhabits in the United 
States, it is more than probable, that the principal part of 
the species are constant residents in the warmer parts of 
the American continent. They begin to migrate early in 
August. 


In length this species is 14 inches, and 36 in the stretch of the 
wings. (The European Kite is 24 inches to 60 or upwards in alar 
extent, which is nearly the same proportion.) The bill, cere, lores, 
and narrow line round the eye are black. Wings very long and 
pointed, the 3d quill longest ; the primaries black, marked down each 
side of the shaft with reddish sorrel, and their coverts slightly touched 
with the same. All the upper plumage at the roots white ; the sca- 
pulars are also spotted with white beneath. Tail slightly forked, and 
as well as the rump, black. 


WHITE-TAILED HAWK. 95 


ELANUS. (Sav.) ELANUS. 


Britt moderately strong, compressed and rounded above ; 
the mouth cleft beyond the eyes; the lobe of the upper 
mandible obtuse ; cere villous; nostrils oval. — Tarsi short, 
thick, reticulated (or with the scales scattered) in front, 
feathered half way down; toes cleft to the base; the nails 
large and acute, the outer very small. Wings very long; 
the Ist and 3d primaries nearly equal; the Ist and 2d 
strongly indented on the inner web; the 2d longest. 


These are timorous birds, chiefly African, with a comparatively 
small and weak bill; they excel in flight, describing graceful circles 
in the air; yet they seldom attack their prey flying, but dart upon it 
when at rest. They feed on small birds, insects, more particularly 
reptiles, and occasionally devour dead animals. 


WHITE-TAILED HAWK. 


(Elanus dispar, Avp. pl. 352. Falco dispar, Temm. Bonar. Am. 
Orn. i. p. 18. pl. 11. fig. 2. [adult female.] Elanus leucurus, 
Bonar. Birds of Europe and Am. p. 4.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Bluish-grey, beneath white ; wing-coverts black ; 
tail even, outer feathers shortest. 


- Tus beautiful Hawk, scarcely distinguishable from a 
second, African species of this section, chiefly inhabits 
the continent of South America, as far as Paraguay. In 
the United States it is only seen occasionally in the penin- 
sula of East Florida, confining its visits almost to the 
southern extremity of the Union. It appears to be very 
shy and difficult of approach, flying in easy circles at a 
moderate elevation, or at times seated on the deadened 
branches of the majestic live-oak, it attentively watches 
the borders of the salt marshes and watery situations for 
the field-mice of that country, or unwary Sparrows, that 


96 BIRDS OF PREY. 


approach its perch. The bird of Africa and India is said 
to utter a sharp and piercing cry, which is often repeated, 
while he moves in the air. They build in the forks of 
trees, a broad and shallow nest, lined internally with moss 
and feathers. The eggs are 4 or 5. A pair have been 
known to breed on the Santee river in the month of 
March, according to Audubon. 


The female of this species is about 164 inches long, and 3 feet 54 
inches in alar extent. Sides of the head, neck, and body, and all 
beneath white. Head pearl-grey, becoming gradually darker towards 
the neck and back, from the front, which is white. Above bluish 
ash ; smaller and middle wing-coverts black; primaries slate color. 
Ist primary a little shorter than the 3d; the 2d longest. The closed 
wings attain within an inch to the tip of the tail; the latter being 7 
inches long, slightly notched, and with the outer feather more than 
half an inch shorter than the adjoining one; the middle feathers pale 
bluish-slate, all the rest pure white. Legs and feet orange-yellow ; 
tarsus covered with small reticulated scales ; toes all separated to the 
base ; the nails, except the middle one, rounded beneath. Bill black ; 
cere orange-yellow and bristly. Iris brownish red. — The male, smaller 
and somewhat darker, tinged with ferruginous. 


NAUCLERUS. (Vicors.) SWALLOW-TAILED 
HAWK. 


Tue bill rather short, weak, compressed ; nostrils oval, 
situated in the cere, hairy at base, oblique. Wings long; 
2d and 3d quill very long; tail long, deeply forked. Feet 
short, weak ; tarsus reticulated; nails nearly cylindric. — 
There are 2 species in this genus, one of which inhabits 
Senegal. 


x 


i XY 
aittyy ~ 


SWALLOW-TAILED HAWK. 


(Nauclerus furcatus, Vicors. Bonar. p. 4. Aun. pl. 72. Falco furca- 
tus, Lin. Witson, Am. Orn. vi. p. 70. pl. 51. fig. 2. [adult male]. 
Philad. Museum, No. 142.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— White; back, wings, and tail-black, with greenish 
and purple reflections ; tail deeply forked. 


Tuts beautiful Kite breeds and passes the summer in 
the warmer parts of the United States, and is also proba- 
bly resident in all tropical and temperate America, mi- 
grating into the southern as well as the northern hemis- 
phere. Inthe former, according to Viellot, it is found in 
Peru, and as far as Buenos Ayres; and though it is ex- 
tremely rare to meet with this species as far as the latitude 
of 40 degees in the Atlantic states; yet tempted by the 

9 


98 BIRDS OF PREY. 


abundance of the fruitful valley of the Mississippi, indi- 
viduals have been seen along that river as far as the Falls 
of St. Anthony, in the 44th degree of north latitude. In- 
deed, according to Fleming, two stragglers have even 
found their devious way to the strange climate of Great 
Britain. 

They appear in the United States about the close of 
April or beginning of May, and are very numerous in the 
Mississippi territory, 20 or 30 being sometimes visible at 
the same time, often collecting locusts and other large 
insects, which they are said to feed on from their claws 
while flying; at times also seizing upon the nests of lo- 
custs and wasps, and like the Honey-Buzzard, devouring 
both the insects and their Jarve. Snakes and lizards are 
their common food in all parts of America. In the month 
of October they begin to retire to the south, at which sea- 
son Mr. Bartram observed them in great numbers assem- 
bled in Florida, soaring steadily at great elevations for 
several days in succession, and slowly passing towards 
their winter-quarters along the Gulf of Mexico. It is said 
to nest in the tops of tall oaks or pine trees, laying 4 to 6 
eggs of a greenish-white sparingly blotched with dark 
brown ; both sexes alternately incubate. From the other 
states they migrate early in September. 


In length this species is about 2 feet; and 4 feet 6 inches in the 
stretch of the wings. (The true Kite is 2 feet by upwards of 5 feet 
stretch.) The bill is black ; the cere yellow, as well as the legs. Iris 
orange-red. The head and neck white; beneath also white. Upper 
parts black, glossed with green and purple. Wings reaching within 
2 inches of the tip of the tail. Tail very long, and remarkably 
forked, of 12 feathers. Several of the tertial feathers white, or edged 
with that color; lining of the wings white.— The plumage of the 
male and female very similar. 


ROUGH-LEGGED FALCON. 59 


BUTEO. (Becut.) BUZZARDS. 


Bix short, suddenly curving from its base, and much 
hooked; lobe blunt; the sides of the lower mandible bent 
inwards. Head rather large, with the neck thick and 
short; the body also rather stout. Tarsus short and thick, 
scutellated, partially or wholly feathered; outer toes con- 
nected at base by a membrane; nails rather weak, those 
of the inner and hind toe largest. “Wings usually long, 
with the 4 first primaries indented on the inner web; the 
Ist very short, and the 4th longest. 

Female, larger, but similar in color. The young very 
different. By their heavy flight, inferior boldness, and 
massive form, they often appear to make an approach to- 
wards the owls; in captivity indeed they habitually hide 
themselves, and appear dastardly. They feed on young 
rabbits, squirrels, mice, rats, moles, snakes, frogs, large 
insects, and small birds, which they commonly watch for 
while perched. 


ROUGH-LEGGED FALCON. 


(Buteo lagopus, Vicors. Aupvs. pl. 422. [adult], and pl. 166. [young.] 
Falco lagopus, Lix. Witson. Am. Orn. iv. p. 59. pl. 33. fig. 1. 
[male.] Falco Sancti-Johannis, Gmevix. F. niger, Wixson, 6. p. 
82. pl. 53. fig. 1. [adult.] Butaétes Sancti-Johannis, Bonar. p. 3.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Black ; front and line round the eye white ; tail 
rounded, crossed with 5 bands of white, and terminated with dull 
white. Young, according to age, varied with white, brown, black- 
ish, and ferruginous; at first palish-brown ; tail half way white, 
with 1 or 2 external dusky bars, and a broad subterminal band of 
black; the feathers sometimes merely blotched with black and 
white on their inner vanes. 


Tuts remarkable species of Buzzard appears to take up 
its residence chiefly in the northern and western wilds of 


100 BIRDS OF PREY. 


America. My friend Mr. Townsend, found its nest on 
the banks of Bear River, west of the Rocky Mountains. 
The nest formed of large sticks, was in a thick willow 
bush, about ten feet from the ground, and contained two 
young almost fledged. It is said to lay 4 eggs, clouded 
with reddish. It is common also to the north of Europe, 
if not to Africa. Its usual station is on the outskirts of 
woods, in the neighborhood of marshes; situations suited 
for supplying it with its usual humble prey of frogs, mice, 
reptiles, and straggling birds, for which it patiently watches 
for hours together, from day-break to late twilight. When 
his prey is perceived, he takes a cautious, slow, circuitous 
course near the surface, and sweeping over the spot where 
the object of pursuit is lurking, he instantly grapples it, 
and flies off to consume it at leisure. Occasionally they 
feed on crabs and shell-fish. ‘The inclement winters of 
the high northern regions, where they are usually bred, 
failing to afford them food, they are under the necessity of 
making a slow migration towards those countries which 
are less severe. According to Wilson, no less than from 
20 to 30 young individuals of this species continued reg- 
ularly to take up their winter-quarters in the low meadows 
below Philadelphia. They are never observed to soar, 
and, when disturbed, utter a loud, squealing note, and only 
pass from one neighboring tree to another. In the course 
of the winter they proceed into Maryland, and as far south 
as North Carolina. In Europe they seldom migrate so far 
to the south as Holland. 


The length of this species is (in the male) about 19 to 20 inches ; 
in the female, 2 feet 2 or 3 inches. Cere and feet yellow. Bill 
blackish. Iris yellow. General color of the adult; above brown 
black with lighter shades, nape of the neck white below the surface. 
Lower parts black with slight shades of brown. The wings extend 
a little beyond the tip of the tail. The 5 first primaries white on their 
inner vanes. Tail deep black, with 5 narrow bands of white, and 


WINTER BUZZARD. 101 


broadly tipped with dull white; vent black, spotted with white. 
Toes very short. 


WINTER BUZZARD. 


(Buteo hiemalis, Nowis. Falco hiemalis, Wison, vol. 4. p. 73. pl. 35. 
fig. 1. [male.] Falco Buteoides, Noxzts. B. lineatus, Avv.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dusky brown; beneath yellowish-white with ob- 
lanceolate dusky spots; wings not extending to the end of the tail ; 
tail dusky with about 9 bars and tipped with dull white; cere and 
legs yellow. — Male, darker, with hastate spots on the femorals, 
and the external feathers of the tail wholly dusky, the under ones 
barred only on their inner vanes ; also more inclined to ferruginous 
beneath, and with the throat scarcely spotted. Female, 4 inches 
longer, lighter, with the tail distinctly barred, and the femorals 
scarcely spotted. 


Tuts large American Buzzard is not uncommon in this 
vicinity, as well as in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, 
where Wilson met with it along the marshes and meadows, 
feeding almost wholly on frogs. It is abundant towards 
winter. He appears to have very much the manners of 
the European Buzzard, remaining inactive for hours to- 
gether on the edges of wet meadows, perched upon the 
larger limbs of trees, and at times keeping up a regular 
quailing and rather hoarse keigh-oo, keigh-oo, which, at in- 
tervals, is answered by his mate. When approached he 
commonly steals off to some other tree at no great dis- 
tance from the first, but if the pursuit be continued, he 
flies out and hovers at a considerable height. It is also an 
inhabitant of Hudson’s Bay and Newfoundland. 


Length of the male 20 inches. Bill dusky ; the cere and legs yel- 
low. The head and hind part of the neck brown, broadly edged with 
white ; primaries and lesser wing-coverts edged with ferruginous. 
Throat, breast. and belly, ferruginous white, marked rather thinly with 
oblong or oblanceolate brown spots; belly nearly spotless, the vent 


Q* 


102 BIRDS OF PREY. 


wholly so; femorals ferruginous-white with hastate transverse, and 
some terminal pointed bars. Legs short, strong,and yellow. Irids 
dark brown. 


RED-TAILED HAWK or BUZZARD. 


(Butco borealis, Swain. AvpuBoN, pl. 51. Falco borealis, GmeL. W1L- 
son, Am. Orn. vi. p. 75. pl. 52. fig. 1. [adult] and American Buz- 
zard, F. leverianus, Ipip. vi. p. 78. pl. 52. fig. 2. [young].) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dusky brown; beneath whitish with dark hastate 
spots; wings considerably shorter than the tail.— Female very 
similar to the male. In the adult the tail is ferruginous, with a 
blackish subterminal band. — Young, with the tail pale dusky 
brown, crossed by 9 or 10 narrow blackish bands. 


Tuts beautiful Buzzard inhabits most parts of the United 
States, being observed from Canada to Florida; also, far 
westward up the Missouri, and even on the coasts of the 
northern Pacific Ocean, by Lewis and Clarke.* Wilson 
found the young to be fully grown in the month of May, 
about latitude 31 degrees on the banks of the Mississippt ; 
at this period they were very noisy and clamorous, keep- 
ing up an incessant squealing. They also occasionally 
nest and breed in large trees in the secluded forests of this 
part of Massachusetts. The young birds soon become 
very submissive, and allow themselves to be handled with 
impunity by those who feed them. The older birds some- 
times contest with each other in the air about their prey, 
and nearly or wholly descend to the earth grappled in each 
other’s talons. Though this species has the general as- 
pect of the Buzzard, its manners are very similar to those 
of the Goshawk ; it is equally fierce and predatory, prowl- 
ing around the farm often when straightened for food, and 
seizing, now and then, a hen or chicken, which it snatches 


* Vol. il. page &&. 


RED-TAILED HAWK OR BUZZARD. 103 


by making a lateral approach; it sweeps along near the 
surface of the ground, and grasping his prey in his talons, 
bears it away to devour in some place of security. These 
depredations on the farm-yard happen, however, only in 
the winter; at all other seasons this is one of the shyest 
and most difficult birds to approach. ‘They will at times 
pounce upon rabbits, and considerable sized birds, partic- 
ularly Larks, and have been observed in the southern 
states perseveringly to pursue squirrels from bough to 
bough until they are overtaken and seized in their talons. 
They are frequently seen near wet meadows where mice, 
moles, and frogs are prevalent; and also feed upon lizards, 
appearing indeed, often content with the most humble 
game. 

They usually associate in pairs, and seem much attached 
to each other; yet they often find it convenient and _ pro- 
fitable to separate in hunting their prey, about which they 
would readily quarrel, if brought into contact. Though 
a good deal of their time passes in indolence, while perch- 
ed in some tall and deadened tree, yet at others they may 
be seen beating the ground as they fly over it in all direc- 
tions in quest of game. On some occasions they amuse 
themselves by ascending to a vast elevation like the as- 
piring Eagle. On a fine evening, about the middle of 
January, in South Carolina, I observed one of these birds 
leave its withered perch, and soaring aloft over the wild 
landscape, in a mood of contemplation, begin to ascend 
towards the thin skirting of elevated clouds above him. 
At length he passed this sublime boundary, and was now 
perceived and soon followed by his ambitious mate, and in 
a little time, by circular ascending gyrations, they both 
disappeared in the clear azure of the heavens; and though 
I waited for their re-appearance half an hour, they still 
continued to be wholly invisible. This amusement, or 


104 BIRDS OF PREY. 


predilection for the cooler regions of the atmosphere, 
seems more or less common to all the rapacious birds. In 
numerous instances this exercise must be wholly indepen- 
dent of the inclination for surveying their prey, as few of 
them beside the falcon descend direct upon their quarry. 
Many, as well as the present species, when on the prowl, 
fly near to the surface of the ground, and often wait and 
watch so as to steal upon their victims before they can 
take the alarm. Indeed the Condor frequents and nests 
upon the summit of the Andes, above which they are seen 
to soar in the boundless ocean of space, enjoying the in- 
vigorating and rarefied atmosphere, and only descending 
to the plains when impelled by the cravings of hunger. 


The Red-tailed Hawk is 20 to 22 inches in length, and 3 feet 9 or 
more inches in the stretch of the expanded wings. The bill greyish- 
black ; cere, sides of the mouth, and legs yellow. Upper parts dark 
brown, touched with ferruginous. Wings dusky, barred with black- 
ish, scapulars barred beneath the surface. Sides of the tail coverts 
white, barred with rusty, the middle ones dark. Tail rounded, ex- 
tending 2 inches beyond the wings, of a bright brown or brick color, 
with a single band of black near the end, and tipped with brownish 
white ; on some of the lateral feathers indications of bars. Beneath 
brownish white, the breast somewhat rust-colored, streaked with dark 
brown ; across the belly a band of interrupted spots of brown. Chin 
white ; vent and femorals pale ocherous, the latter with a few small 
heart-shapped spots of brown. Iris yellow. 


HARLAN’S BUZZARD. 


(Buteo Harlaniit, Aup. Falco Harlani, Avpuzon, pl. 86. [male and 
female.]) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Brownish-black ; the tail longer than the wings, 
with 7 or 8 black bands; cere and legs yellow; beneath purple 
with oblong black spots ; the femorals with hastate ones. 


Tunis remarkable species was discovered by Audubon, 
near St. Francisville in Louisania, having bred in the 


COMMON BUZZARD. 105 


neighborhood of that place, for two successive seasons. 
Its flight is rapid and protracted, and it seizes its prey with 
celerity. Pouncing on a fowl it kills it almost instantane- 
ously, and preys also on Partridges and the smaller kinds 
of Ducks. 


Length 21 inches, alar extent 45. Deep chocolate-brown ; beneath 
lighter, the feathers being margined with light brown. Tail lighter 
than the back, and rather narrowly barred with brownish-black. 
Under wing coverts whitish, spotted with dark brown. Bill light 
blue, black towards the end. Cere yellowish-green. Legs pale yel- 
low. The wings a few inches shorter than the tail. Ist primary 
rather short, 4th longest. 


COMMON BUZZARD. 


(Buteo vulgaris, Ricn. and Swarns. North. Zool. ii. p. 47. pl. 27. 
[male.] Plain Falcon, Penn. Arct. Zool. i. p. 207. No. 103 ? [young 
female ?] Buteo Swainsoni, Bonar. p.38. Falco obsoletus, Latu. 


Ind. i. sp. 61 ?) 


Spec. Cuaractr. — Blackish-brown ; the tail darker, crossed by about 
7 bars; below dull brown, paler on the belly and spotted, whitish 
on the vent: cere and feet yellow.— Female less bright on the 
belly, barred with blackish-brown; and with the cere and legs 
bluish-livid, 


Tue Common Buzzard, according to Richardson, ar- 
rives in the fur countries about the middle of April: soon 
after it builds its nest, and having reared its young, departs 
about the end of September. It haunts alluvial lands by 
the banks of streams, where on the bough of a tree it sits 
watching patiently for the approach of some diminutive 
quadruped, bird or reptile. On espying its prey, it glides 
of, and sweeping easily but rapidly down, seizes it in its 
claws. When disturbed it makes a short circuit, and soon 
settles on some other perch. Its nest, on a tree, is made of 
short sticks, and sparingly lined with deer’s hair. The 


106 BIRDS OF PREY. 


eggs 3 tod in number, are equal in size to those of the 
domestic fowl, and have a greenish-white color, with a few 
large dark-brown blotches at the thick end. It was seen 
as far north as the 57th parallel, and it most probably takes 
astill higher range. In France, the flesh is accounted a 
delicacy and much sought after during winter. 

The Buzzard is said to be of a cowardly and indolent 
disposition; constructing, in old oaks and birch-trees, a 
nest of small branches, or taking possession of one deserted 
by the Crows, and lining it with wool and other soft sub- 
stances, in which it lays only 2 or 3 whitish eggs, waved 
with greenish, and spotted with yellowish. But, if defi- 
cient in courage it is not so in natural affection, feeding 
and tending its young with much assiduity ; and even the 
male, according to Ray, on the death of the female, pa- 
tiently feeds and rears the brood till able to provide for 
themselves. 

According to Buffon, a Mr. Fontaine succeeded in 
taming and domesticating a Buzzard, so completely that 
he exhibited a real attachment to his master, attended at 
the dinner-table, caressing with his head and bill. He 
managed to conquer the dogs and cats of the house, 
seizing the food from them when there were several to- 
gether; and, as a last resort, when hard pushed by his 
assailants, took wing with a tone of exultation. He had 
also a singular antipathy to red caps, which he dexterously 
snatched from the heads of the working peasantry without 
being perceived; he likewise purloined wigs in the same 
manner, and after carrying this strange booty to the tallest 
tree of an adjoining park, he left them there without injury. 
Although he sometimes attacked the neighboring poultry, 
he lived on amicable terms with those of his master, bath- 
ing even among the chickens and ducklings without offer- 
ing them the least injury. 


BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 107 


Length of the male Buzzard about 22 inches. — The dorsal aspect 
between clove and blackish-brown, the margins of the feathers paler; 
the head and hind part of the back darker, the edges of the rest of 
the plumage fading into soiled yellowish-brown. Quills and long 
scapulars, blackish-brown ; some obscure bars on the former. Secon- 
daries and a few adjoining primaries narrowly tipped with brownish- 
white. Tail deep clove-brown, with a narrow soiled tip, crossed by 
about 7 obscure bars of a deeper shade, the terminal one an inch 
broad. Under surface: the cheeks clove-brown; throat white ; sides 
and fore part of the neck, and upper part of the breast, dull brocoli- 
brown, slightly mixed with yellowish-brown. Belly and thighs pale 
yellowish-brown, indistinctly barred with white. Went and under 
tail coverts soiled white. Flanks yellowish-brown, with some 
patches of clove-brown. Tail square, beneath very pale ash-grey, 
crossed by 7 bars of clove-brown. Bill bluish-black. Cere and legs 
yellowish. Bill broad at base, flatly convex above, much compressed 
towards the tip, which forms a rather slender acute hook. The lower 
mandible very obliquely truncated at the end. The 3d quill longest. 

The general color of the female similar with that of the male, but 
the black bars on the tail are more distinct; the breast darker, the 
belly less bright, and as well as the flanks studded with short bars of 
blackish-brown. The cere and legs have a bluish livid color. The 
3d and 4th quills are also equal.— Length 26 inches; tail 10. 


BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 


(Buteo pennsylvanicus, Bonar. Falco pennsylvanicus, AupuBon, pl. 
91. [male and female.] Witson. Am. Orn. vi. p. 92. pl. 54. fig. 1. 
[male.] Bonar. An. Lyc. 2. p. 29. Philad. Museum, No. 407.) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Dark brown; head streaked with whitish; be- 
neath white, thickly spotted on the breast with brownish sagittate 
spots; tail short, black, with 2 bars of white and tipped with 
whitish, cere and feet yellow. — Young. Tail indistinctly banded 
with black and dusky , lower parts pure white, with rare blackish 
oblanceolate spots. 


Tuts species was obtained by Wilson, in the vicinity of 
Philadelphia, in the act of feeding on a meadow mouse. 
On being approached, it uttered a whining whistle, and 


108 BIRDS OF PREY. 


flew to another tree where it was shot. Its great breadth 
of wing as well as of the head and body, compared with 
its length, appears remarkably characteristic. ‘The follow- 
lowing day the mate was observed sailing in wide circles, 
the wings scarcely moving, and presenting almost a semi- 
circular outline. ‘These 2 individuals appear to be all 
that were known to Wilson of this species. Mr. Audubon 
considers it by no means a rare species in Virginia, Mary- 
land, and all the states to the eastward of these. Its usual 
prey is small birds, very young poultry, small quadrupeds 
and insects. It nests in the larger branches of trees, laying 
A or 5 dull greyish-white eggs, blotched with dark brown. 

The Buzzardet, of Pennant, No. 109, vol. 1. p. 245, 
described from a specimen in the Leverian Museum, is 
doubtless this species. 


The length of this species (a male) is 14 inches (according to Pen- 
nant, 15 inches,) extent 33. Bull black, bluish near the base, slightly 
toothed ; cere and corners of the mouth yellow. Irids amber color. 
Frontlet and lores white. From the mouth backwards runs a patch 
of blackish brown. Upper parts dark brown, beneath the surface 
spotted and barred with white. Head large, broad, and flat, streaked 
with whitish. Tail short, the exterior and interior feathers somewhat 
shorter ; tail coverts spotted with white. Wings dusky brown, ob- 
securely barred with black; most of the inner vanes partly white ; 
lining of the wing brownish-white, marked with small arrow-heads of 
brown. Chin white, surrounded with streaks of black. Belly and 
vent, like the breast, white, but more thinly marked with pointed 
spots of brown. Femorals pale brownish white, thickly marked with 
small touches of brown and white. Legs stout; feet coarsely scaled, 
both of a dirty orange yellow. — Female, much larger, lighter colored 
over the eye, being rufous-white with minute spots; femorals and 
beneath the wing marked with cordate spots. Beneath rufous-white 
with oblong dusky-brown spots. Belly and rump the same color, but 
spotless. 


RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, 109 


RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 


(Buteo lineatus, Aup. pl. 56. Falco lineatus, WiLson, 6. p. 86. pl. 53. 
fig. 3.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Brownish, varied with white and ferruginous ; 
tail always banded, extending considerably beyond the closed 
wings. — Adult, brown; beneath, head, neck, and tail coverts 
white, spotted longitudinally with brown; tail with 8 or 9 bands of 
dark and light brown. — Young, brown and ferruginous, beneath 
rusty, slightly varied with faint bars; wings dusky and barred ; 
tail black, crossed and tipped with 5 bands of white. 


Tis very elegant Hawk does not migrate or inhabit 
very far to the north. ‘They are never seen in Massachu- 
setts, nor perhaps much farther than the state of Pennsyl- 
vania. In the southern states, during winter, they are very 
common in swampy situations, where their quailing cry of 
mutual recognition may be heard from the depths of the 
dark forest, almost every morning of the season. This 
plaintive echoing note resembles somewhat the garrulous 
complaint of the Jay, keé-00, keé-00, keé-o6, continued 
with but little intermission sometimes for near 20 minutes; 
at length, it becomes loud and impatient, but on being 
distantly answered by the mate, the sound softens and be- 
comes plaintive like éé-o0. This morning call is uttered 
most loudly and incessantly by the male, inquiring for his 
adventurous mate whom the uncertain result of the chase 
has perhaps separated from him for the night. As this 
species is noways shy, and very easily approached, I have 
had the opportunity of studying it closely. At length, but 
in no haste, I observed the female approach and _ take her 
station on the same lofty, decayed limb with her companion, 


10 


110 BIRDS OF PREY. 


who, grateful for this attention, plumed the feathers of his 
mate with all the assiduous fondness of a dove. Intent 
upon her meal, however, she soon flew off to a distance, 
while the male still remained on his perch dressing up his 
beautiful feathers for near half an hour, often shaking his 
tail, like some of the lesser birds, and occasionally taking 
an indifferent survey of the hosts of small chirping birds 
which surrounded him, who followed without alarm their 
occupation of gleaning seeds and berries for subsistence. 
I have occasionally observed them perched on low bushes 
and stakes in the rice-fields, remaining thus for half an 
hour at a time, and then darting after their prey as it 
comes in sight. JI saw one descend upon a Plover, as I 
thought, and Wilson remarks their living on these birds, 
Larks, and Sandpipers. The same pair that I watched 
also hung on the rear of a flock of Cow-buntings which 
were feeding and scratching around them. ‘They some- 
times attack squirrels, as I have been informed; and Wil- 
son charges them with preying also upon Ducks. 

I never observed them to soar, at least in winter, their 
time being passed very much in indolence, and in watch- 
ing for their game. Their flight is almost as easy and 
noiseless as that of the owl. In the early part of the 
month of March they were breeding in West Florida, and 
seemed to choose the densest thickets, and not to build at 
any great height from the ground. On approaching these 
places, the keé-o0 became very loud and angry. According 
to Audubon, the eggs are 4 to 5, pale blue, faintly blotched 
with browish red. 


The male Red-shouldered species, according to Wilson, is 19 inches 
in length; that of Pennant was 22 inches, having seven bands, how- 
ever, on the tail; this must have been a female, which differs from 
the other sex chiefly in the colors, which are less dark and pure. 


HARRIS’S BUZZARD. 11] 


Bill blackish. Cere and legs yellow. The head and back are brown- 
ish and rusty. The greater wing-coverts and secondaries pale olive- 
brown, thickly spotted with white and yellowish white. Primaries 
nearly black, barred with white. Tail black, rounded, extending 
about 14 inches beyond the wings, crossed by 5 bands of white, 
and broadly tipped with the same. Beneath bright rusty, with indis- 
tinct darker transverse bands; the dark shafts of some of these 
feathers present partly the narrow oblong spots of the Winter Hawk. 
Vent pale ochreous. Legs long, and feathered a little below the 
knees ; femorals pale rusty, and barred faintly with a darker tint. 
Iris reddish-hazel. 


HARRIS’S BUZZARD. 


(Buteo Harrisii, Avpvs. pl. 392. Bonar. p. 3. Birds of Europe and 
Am.) 


Spec. Caaracr.— Dark brown, tail dusky, with 2 broad white bands, 
the one at the base and the other at the extremity [young].) 


Tus species was discovered by Dr. Jenkins, in Louis- 
iana between Bayou Sara and Natchez, and was named by 
A®idubon in honor of our mutual friend, E. Harris, Esq. 


Bill light blue, darker at the tip; cere and feet yellow. Above 
deep chocolate brown; the upper and lower wing-coverts, and the 
feathers of the legs brownish-red ; the coverts with a central dusky 
streak in each feather, enlarging in the secondary coverts, so as to 
leave only the margins ferruginous. The feathers of the rump faintly 
margined with the same; upper tail coverts barred and tipped with 
white. Tail brownish-black, with 2 broad bands of white, the one at 
the base and the other terminal. Length 24 inches; stretch of the 
wings about 30 inches. Wings long, the Ist quill four inches shorter 
than the 4th, which is longest. Tail long and rounded. 


LIZ BIRDS OF PREY. 


WHITE THROATED BUZZARD. 


(Buteo montana. F. Buteo, Avo. pl. 372. [female].) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark brown; chin and upper part of the throat 
nearly white, below dusky with numerous spots; tail brown, lon- 
ger than the wings, with about 14 dusky bars ; inner webs of the 
primaries whitish, with distinct dusky bars. — Male and Young ? 


Mr. Townsenp and myself observed this bird on the 
woody margins of the Rocky Mountain streams which 
pass into the Colorado of the West, about the month of 
July, when they were breeding, in a tree where Mr. T. 
found the nest containing 2 white eggs. Its habits closely 
resembled those of the Red Tailed Buzzard. From the 
Buteo vulgaris it appears to be sufficiently distinct, how- 
ever, allied. 


(Female.) Length 23 inches; each wing 17 inches. Bill leaden 
blue, yellowish at the margins, black at tip. Iris hazel. Feet yellow, 
and very stout, claws large bluish-black. Primaries black towards 
the tip, but a great part of the inner web, with the shaft whitish dha 
barred with brownish-black, the bars more extended on the seconda- 
ries. Below the breast yellowish or brownish-white, faintly and 
transversely barred with brown. Femorals almost spotless and pale 
tawny yellow; 3d quill longest, Ist but little shorter than the 2d. 
Head flattish, very different from that of the Common Buzzard, with 
the bill longer and stouter. Scarcely any appearance of spots above. 
Tail proportionably longer with more bars. 


CIRCUS. (Brecut.) HARRIERS. 


Tuese are principally distinguished from the Buzzards 
by having a kind of collar of small rigid feathers sur- 


HEN-HARRIER OR MARSH-HAWK. 113 


rounding the face, as in Owls. They are, however, bold 
and active birds, with a graceful flight, but are inferior 
to the Falcons, not chasing so well on the wing, and 
feeding principally on mice, reptiles, fish, young birds, and 
insects. ‘They pass their time chiefly about marshes and 
ponds, near which situations, amidst weeds on the ground, 
or in the woods, they construct their nests. At the pair- 
ing season the males pass much of their time in soaring at 
considerable elevations, and seem to take delight in dwell- 
ing in the cooler regions of the air. The female and 
young differ considerably in color from the male. 


HEN-HARRIER, or MARSH-HAWK. 


(Circus cyaneus, Aun. pl. 356. Falco cyaneus, Lin. F. uliginosus, 
Wirson, Am. Orn, vi. p. 67. pl. 51 fig. 1 [young female], and 
Bonap. Am. Orn. ii. pl. 1]. fig. 1. [adult male]. Strigiceps uligi- 
nosus, BoNAP. p. 5.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — With the wings extending to three-fourths the 
length of the tail; the 3d and 4th primaries equal; rump white. 
— Adult male bluish-grey; inner vanes of the primaries and be- 
neath white without spots; the quills black towards the end. — 
Female and young dark brown; beneath pale yellowish-brown with 
dark spots; the wings on the under side banded with black and 
white ; tail, except the 2 middle dusky feathers, barred with black- 
ish and pale brown. 


Tuts species is common to the northern and temperate, as 
well asthe warmer parts of the old and new continents, being 
met with in Europe, Africa, South America, and the West 
Indies. In the winter season it extends its peregrinations 
from Hudson’s Bay to the Oregon Territory, and the south- 
ern parts of the United States, frequenting chiefly open, low, 

10* 


114 "BIRDS OF PREY. 


and marshy situations, over which it sweeps or skims along, 
at a little distance usually from the ground, in quest of mice, 
small birds, frogs, lizards, and other reptiles, which it often 
selects by twilight, as well as in the open day ; and at times, 
pressed by hunger, it is said to join the Owls, and seek 
out its prey even by moonlight. Instances have been 
known in England, in which this bird has carried his 
temerity so far as to pursue the same game with the armed 
fowler, and even snatch it from his grasp, after calmly 
waiting for it to be shot, and without even betraying 
timidity at the report of the gun. The nest of this species 
is made on the ground, in swampy woods, or among rushes, 
occasionally also under the protection of rocky precipices ; 
and is said to be formed of sticks, reeds, leaves, straw, 
and similar materials heaped together, and finished with a 
lining of feathers, hair, or other soft substances. A nest, 
examined on Galveston Island by Audubon, and Mr. Har- 
ris, on the ground, was made wholly of dry grass. The 
eggs are 4 or 5, of a bluish white, and without spots. In 
the J. cineraceus, so nearly related to this species, the 
eggs are of a pure white. When their young are ap- 
proached, the parents, hovering round the intruder, and 
uttering a sort of uncouth syllable, like geg geg gag, or 
ge ge ne ge ge, seem full of afright and anxiety. The 
Crows, however, are their greatest enemies, and they often 
succeed in demolishing their nests. The young are easily 
tamed, and feed almost immediately without exhibiting 
any signs of fear. 


In the old male the upper parts are of a bluish grey. The quill- 
feathers are white at their origin, and black the rest of their length ; 
the internal part of the base of the wings, rump, belly, sides, thighs, 
abdomen, and beneath the tail is white and without spots. Upper 
part of the tail of a cinereous grey, with the ends of the feathers 


STRIGINE OWLS. 115 


whitish. Iris and feet yellow. The length 20 to 21 inches. — The 
old female is dirty brown above, with the feathers of the head, neck, 
and upper part of the back, bordered with rusty. Beneath rusty- 
yellow, with large longitudinal brown spots. The quills banded 
exteriorly with dark brown and black, but interiorly with white and 
black. Rump white, with rusty spots. The 2 middle tail feathers 
banded with blackish, and very dark grey; the lateral feathers 
banded with yellowish red and blackish. The length 1 or 2 inches 
greater than in the male.—The young very similar to the adult 
female. 


Family STRIGINA: OWLS. 


THEsE, in the order of nature, appear to occupy among 
the birds, the same situation as the Feline tribe among the 
mammalia. Like cats, which they externally resemble in 
the face, many of them are only able to hunt their prey in 
the evening or morning twilight, or aided by the uncertain 
light of the moon. ‘There are a few of the species who are 
qualified to endure the light of day, pursuing their prey 
on the wing, or laying wait for it in the thickest parts of 
the forest; these species may be known by the absence of 
the ear-like tufts of feathers on their heads, and by the 
emarginated tail, which, as in most of the Hawks, extends 
beyond the extremity of the wings. In the other species 
(either with or without ear-tufts, and with a short and 
rounded tail seldom extending beyond the wings,) the pu- 
pil of the eye is so large, and admits so many rays, that 
they are dazzled by the light of day, and endeavor, like 
cats, to obviate this defect by contracting the pupil into a 
narrower circle of vision. In consequence of this pecu- 
liar organization, they seek, in the day, the retirement of 
the thickest forest, the cranies of the desolate ruin, or the 


116 BIRDS OF PREY. 


humble and more natural retreat of a hollow and decaying 
tree. At times, routed from their refuge, or suddenly sur- 
prised by the approach of day, they may be seen dozing 
on some exposed branch or trunk of a tree, On such oc- 
casions, cries and insult are poured upon the nocturnal 
depredator from most of the neighboring birds who make 
the discovery,* and detest the feline prowler; the Jay 
and Titmouse, themselves plunderers, are often the 
most ready to assail the bewildered Owl with scolding 
invective ; but the lesser birds, full of sympathy for their 
mates and young, seem only employed in extenuating the 
cry of alarm. The purblindness of these nocturnal birds 
arises rather from the delicacy than the defect of the 
eye; their sense of*hearing and its apparatus are also ex- 
quisite, perhaps superior to that of any other animal, and 
sufficient probably to direct them to the slightest motions 
of their skulking prey; the drum of the ear is propor- 
tionally larger than in the quadrupeds, and the ear itself 
generally provided with an operculum which can be open- 
ed or shut at pleasure. The almost spectral flight of the 
Owl is rendered thus inaudible and gliding by the downy 
softness of his feathers, which is perhaps assisted by the 
recurved barbs that commonly edge the exterior of the 
3 or 4 first quills. Thus provided, like the insidious 
assassin, with a noiseless and easy approach, sallying out 
under cover of the approaching shades of night, sacred to 
repose, he snatches the dormant bird from its perch, and 
turns the music of the grove into wailing and silence, con- 
sonant with his own malignant destiny and boding cries. 


* So constant is the persecution of the Owl by a variety of birds, that advan- 
tage is taken of their antipathy, and many are caught by liming the neighboring 
twigs. 


OWLS. ts 


Like the Hawks, his powerful talons are the arms with 
which he makes the fatal sweep amongst his prey; it is 
only when greatly pressed by hunger that he deigns to 
feed on dead animals; and his drink is rarely ever other 
than the blood of his victims, and their recent juices. The 
bones, hair, feathers, and hard parts, not digestible in the 
membranous stomach with which alone he is provided, 
are brought up, and ejected by the mouth, in the form of 
pellets or little balls. In anciently settled countries, 
frugal of labor, they content themselves to nest in old 
towers and ruins, sometimes in the holes of hollow trees, 
or the deserted nests of other large birds; in this country, 
decayed trees, as well as the fissures of rocks, and retired 
barns, are chosen for this purpose; their eggs are from 2 
to 6. Their moult takes place only once in the year; and 
the striking disparities of plumage which occur among the 
Hawks, is generally unknown among the Owls. The 
young, however, before their first moult, have usually a 
darker face than the adult, thus appearing as it were 
masked; but after this period they no longer differ from 
the old. The species are spread all over the northern and 
temperate parts of the globe, and some are common even 
to both hemispheres. 


OWLS. (Liv.) STRIX. 


In these birds the pitt is short, compressed, and curved from its 
origin; the base surrounded by a cere, and covered wholly or in part 
by bristly feathers. Head large and very much feathered ; the face 
surrounded by a sort of rigid plumy collar. Nostrits lateral, com- 
ing out upon the anterior edge of the cere, rounded, open, and con- 
cealed by the incumbent setaceous feathers. Eyes very large, di- 


118 BIRDS OF PREY. 


rected forwards; the iris brilliant. Legs and feet often covered with 
feathers to the very nails; the toes entirely divided to their base ; the 
exterior toe capable of being brought round. Nails strong, sharp, 
and very retractile (so as to secure very small prey). Wings some- 
what pointed ; the 3 first primaries generally provided with loose re- 
curved barbs on their outer edge ; the first primary short; the 2d not 
extending to the extremity of the 3d, which is the longest. 


§ 1. With the bill curved from the base. 


Subgenus. — Surnia. 


With the opening of the ears oval, of moderate size, and without 
operculum or cover; the disk round the face rather small, not very 
distinct, and composed of slender feathers. These are somewhat 
allied to the Hawks. 


t Head without tufts or feathers. 


Feathered to the claws; outer webs of the primaries not recurved. 
With the tail extending beyond the wings. The North American 
species are nearly all diurnal. 


HAWK OWL. 


(Strix’ funerea, Gm. Avpvus. pl. 378. S. hudsonia, WiLson, Am. 
Orn. vi. p. 64. pl. 50. fig. 6. Philad. Museum, No. 500. Surnia 
funerea, Bonar. p. 6.) 


Spec. CuHaract.—Blackish-brown, thickly spotted with white ; 
beneath white, barred with brown ; tail wedge-shaped, extending 
far beyond the wings, marked with several narrow whitish bands ; 
feet thickly feathered: the bill yellow. — Female, with the tints 


less clear, and of a little larger size.— Young, with the plumage of 
a rusty brown. 


120 BIRDS OF PREY. . 


Tuts remarkable species, forming a connecting link 
with the preceding genus of the Hawks, is nearly confined 
to the arctic wilds of both continents, being frequent in 
Siberia and the fur countries from Hudson’s Bay to the 
Pacific. A few stragglers, now and then, at distant inter- 
vals, and in the depths of winter, penetrate on the one side 
into the northern parts of the United States; and, on the 
other, they occasionally appear in Germany, and more 
rarely in France. At Hudson’s Bay they are observed by 
day flying high, and preying on the White Grous and 
other birds, sometimes even attending the hunter like a 
Falcon, and boldly taking up the wounded game as it flutters 
on the ground. They are also said to feed on mice and 
insects, and (according to Meyer) they nest upon trees, 
laying 2 white eggs. They are said to be constant atten- 
dants on the Ptarmigans in their spring migrations to- 
wards the north; and are observed to hover round the 
camp fires of the natives, in quest probably of any offal or 
rejected game. 


The length of the male of this species is about 15 inches. The bill 
yellow, varied with black spots, according to the age, and almost hid 
among the feathers. The iris also bright yellow. Cheeks white ; 
crown and hind-head scattered with round spots of dusky brown; a 
black band commences behind the eye, extends to the orifice of the 
ears, and terminates angularly on the sides of the neck. The upper 
parts variously spotted with dark brown and white. Throat whitish; 
below, white, transversely barred with greyish brown. Tail round- 
ed, near 7 inches long, extending 3 inches beyond the points of the 
wings, the feathers greyish-brown, crossed by 6 or 7 narrow bars of 
whitish, and tipped with the same. Feet thickly feathered to the 
toes ; the nails horn-color, 


Subgenus. — Nocrwa. (Savig. Cuvier.) Nyctra, (Bonap.) 


With the character of the section, differing merely in having a 
short tail, and with an incomplete disk of setaceous feathers round 


the eyes. 


SNOWY OWL. 123i 


SNOWY OWL. 


(Strix nyctea, Liyy. Witson, iv. p. 53. pl. 32. fig. 1. [male.] Philad. 
Museum, No. 458. Surnia nyctea, Avp. pl. 121. 


Spec. Cuaract.— White, more or less spotted and barred with 
dusky-brown according to sex and age; tail rounded, reaching but 
little beyond the wings; feet thickly clothed with long feathers ; 
the bill black. 


Tuts very large, and often snow-white, species of Owl 
is almost an exclusive inhabitant of the arctic regions of 
both continents; being common in Iceland, the Shetland 
islands, Kamtschatka, Lapland, and Hudson’s Bay. In 
these dreary wilds, surrounded by an almost perpetual 
winter, he dwells, breeds, and obtains his subsistence. 
His white robe renders him scarcely discernible from the 
overwhelming snows, where he reigns, like the boreal 
spirit of the storm. His loud, hollow, barking growl, 
‘whowh, ’whowh, ’whowh hah, hah, hah, hah,* and other 
more dismal cries, sound like the unearthly ban of Cer- 
berus; and heard amidst a region of cheerless solitude, 
his lonely and terrific voice augments rather than relieves 
the horrors of the scene. 

Clothed with a dense coating of feathers, which hide 
even the nostrils, and leave only the talons exposed, he 
ventures abroad boldly at all seasons, and like the Hawks 
seeks his prey by day-light as well as dark, skimming aloft, 
and reconnoitring his prey, which is commonly the White 
Grous or some other birds of the same genus, as well 
as hares. On these he darts from above, and rapidly 
seizes them in his resistless talons. At times he watches 
for fish, and condescends also to prey upon rats, mice, and 
even carrion. 


* These latter syllables with the usual quivering sound of the Owl. 


Il 


122 BIRDS OF PREY. 


It is very rare that this species leaves its dreary do- 
main to penetrate even into the north of Europe. They 
appear to have a natural aversion to settled countries ; for 
which reason, perhaps, and the still greater severity of 
the climate of arctic America, they are frequently known 
to wander in the winter south through the western thinly 
settled interior of the United States, as far even as the 
confines of Florida. They migrate probably by pairs; 
and according to Wilson, two of these birds were so 
stupid, or dazzled, as to alight on the roof of the court- 
house in the Jarge town of Cincinnati. In South Caro- 
lina, Dr. Garden saw them occasionally, and they were, 
in this mild region, observed to hide themselves during 
the day in the Palmetto groves of the sea-coast, and only 
sallied out towards night in quest of their prey. Their 
habits, therefore, seem to vary considerably according to 
circumstances and climate. According to Temminck 
they nest among the steepest rocks, or upon the old pine 
trees of the glacial regions, and lay 2 eggs of a pure 
white. According to Richardson it lays 3 or 4, of which 2 
only are in general hatched. 


The length of the female of this species is 2 feet 2 inches or up- 
wards (according to Wilson the male is only 2234 inches), and 4 feet 
6 inches in the stretch of the wings. The iris bright yellow. The 
claws black. The female more spotted than the male ; the latter only 
becoming wholly white by age. The young, as they issue from the 
nest, are covered with a brown down; the first feathers also are of 
a pale brown. 


Subgenus. — ATHENE. (Bove). 


With the legs long and bare of feathers, or only clothed with 
bristles. 


BURROWING OWL. 123 


BURROWING OWL. 


(Strix cunicularia, Motina. Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p, 68. pl. 7. fig. 2. 
Philad. Museum, No. 472. Aup. pl. 432.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Cinnamon-grey spotted with whitish; beneath 
whitish, spotted with cinnamon-brown; tail even, reaching but 
little beyond the wings; feet covered with short, scattered bris- 
tles. 


Ir is to Mr. Say that we are indebted for the first au- 
thentic materials towards establishing the character of 
this remarkable species of Owl, which was known even 
to Molina as a resident in Chili, and by Father Feuillée 
as indigenous to the plains of Peru. In these countries, 
as well as in St. Domingo, where Vieillot observed it, it 
is said to excavate the burrow it inhabits, not only as a 
nest, but as a retreat and place of refuge in the bosom of 
the earth, instead of the hollow of a tree or the cranny 
of a ruin, according to the more usual habits of these 
nocturnal wanderers; indeed, this species appears to be 
nearly as diurnal as a Hawk, to which he bears no bad 
resemblance in the lightness and bareness of his long 
legs, and the projection of his bill from an unusually 
small head. With these indications of activity, he really 
enjoys the light of the full glare of day, and is seen at 
this time flying about, and searching for his food of hard- 
shelled insects. His habits on the plains, at the foot 
of the Rocky Mountains, are somewhat different in cir- 
cumstances, from those of the same bird in Chili and the 
West Indies; for, like almost all the other smaller Owls, 
he appears to shun the labor of forming an independent 
dwelling, and takes up his abode in the deserted burrows 
of the Prairie Marmot, in consequence of which he often 
appears singularly amicably associated with this little bark- 


124 BIRDS OF PREY. 


ing quadruped, whose note even he seems to have acquired, 
*““°tsheh, ’tsheh, ’tsheh, ’tsheh,” rather than the more na- 
tural howling of his fraternity. Vieillot attributes to him 
the usual hoo, hoo, 00, 00, 06, and brings him round the 
farm-houses of St. Domingo like other common nocturnal 
species; but these habits would much better suit the 
Mottled Owl than the present, and may therefore justly 
be doubted. ‘This species is abundant in some parts of 
the Rocky Mountains, and in Upper California, where they 
are out at all hours of the day flitting along in silence and 
dwelling in the deserted burrows of the marmot, from 
which however they appear to migrate in the month of 
August. Like the other species it lays 4 white eggs, and 
lines the nest with moss and dry grass. The burrowing 
habit, constant in this species, seems not altogether pecu- 
liar, as the Aluco Owl, according to Latham, also burrows 
sometimes like a Rabbit. 


The Burrowing Owl is 93 inches long, and 2 feet in extent. The 
bill is yellowish horn color. Irids yellow. The breast banded with 
pale brown, Wings darkish, much spotted and banded with brown- 
ish white. The primaries have 5 to 6 bands; the 3d feather longest. 
Tail slightly rounded, of the color of the primaries, also 5 or 6 band- 
ed. Legs long and slender; the feet dusky; the feathers towards 
the toes degenerating into mere bristles. The nails black and rather 
small. 


Subgenus. — Scops. (Savigny }. 


t+ With the head furnished with ear-like tufts of feathers. (Prey- 
ing only by night.) 


Disk of setaceous plumes round the face incomplete ; tarsus 
feathered only to the toes whichare naked. Tail short. 


Dt iic! 


Wa 
BME: 
ARCWEN E 


MOTTLED OWL. 


(Strix nevia, GmeLin. Witson, iii. p. 16. pl. 19. fig. 1. Philad. 
Museum, No. 444, and 423. Avp. pl. 97.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark brown, inclining to ferruginous and ash, 
mottled with black ; wings spotted with white ; beneath whitish, 
spotted with black and brown; the tail even, reaching to the tip 
of the wings ; feet covered with short feathers nearly to the claws. 


THIs common, small, and handsome species, known as 
the Little Screech-Owl, is probably resident in every part 
of the United States, and, in fact, inhabits from Greenland 
to Florida, and westward to the Oregon. They appear 
more abundant in autumn and winter, as at those seasons, 
their food failing, they are obliged to approach habitations 
and barns, in which the mice they chiefly prey on now 
assemble; they also lay wait for small birds, and feed on 
beetles, crickets, and other insects. Their nest is usually 
in the hollow of an old orchard tree, about the months of 

A i 


126 BIRDS OF PREY. 


May or June; it is lined carelessly with a little hay, leaves, 
and feathers, and the eggs are commonly 4 to 6, white, 
and nearly round. Aldrovandus remarks, that the Great 
Horned Owl provides so plentifully for its young, that a 
person might obtain some dainties from the nest, and yet 
leave a sufficiency for the owlets besides; the same remark 
may also apply to this species, as in the hollow stump of 
an apple tree, which contained a brood of these young 
Owls, were found several Bluebirds, Blackbirds, and Song- 
Sparrows, intended as a supply of food. 

During the day they either retire into hollow trees and 
unfrequented barns, or hide in the thickest evergreens. 
At times they are seen abroad by day, and in cloudy weather 
they wake up from their diurnal slumbers a considerable 
time before dark. In the day they are always drowsy, or, 
as if dozing, closing, or scarcely half opening their heavy 
eyes; presenting the very picture of sloth and nightly dis- 
sipation. When perceived by the smaller birds, they are at 
once recognised as their insidious enemies; and the rareness 
of their appearance, before the usual roosting-time of other 
birds, augments the suspicion they entertain of these feline 
hunters. From complaints and cries of alarm, the thrush* 
sometimes threatens blows; and though evening has per- 
haps set in, the smaller birds and cackling Robins reecho 
their shrill chirpings and complaints throughout an exten- 
sive wood, until the nocturnal monster has to seek safety 
in a distant flight. ‘Their notes are most frequent in the 
latter end of summer and autumn, crying ina sort of wail- 
ing quiver, not very unlike the whining of a puppy dog, 
ho, ho ho ho ho ho ho, proceeding from high and clear to a 
low gutteral shake or trill; these notes, at little intervals, 
are answered by some companion, and appear to be chiefly 


* At least Wilson’s Thrush, which I have observed in the act. 


RED OWL. 127 


a call of recognition from young of the same brood, or 
pairs who wish to discover each other after having been 
separated while dozing in the day. On moonlight evenings 
this slender wailing is kept up nearly until midnight. 


The female Mottled Owl, or old bird, is 10 to 11 inches long, and 
22 or more in extent. The upper parts are dark brown, shaded with 
paler, and thickly lined and spotted with zigzag points of black and 
ash. The wings lighter, and spotted with white. Tail mottled with 
black, brown, and whitish on a dark ground; beneath, grey. Horns 
or auricular tufts, prominent, each composed of 10 graduated feathers. 
Face whitish, with small dusky spots, and bounded on either side by 
a black circle. Breast and belly whitish, variegated with broad lines 
and zigzag bars of black, with blended touches of brown. The legs 
feathered nearly to the claws, with hairy down of a pale brown. 
Vent and under tail coverts nearly white, the latter faintly marked 
with brown. Iris brilliant yellow. The bill and claws greyish horn 
color. The male is smaller and darker, and the white on the wing- 
coverts less pure. 


RED OWL. 


(Striz Asio, Lixx. Latu. General History of Birds, [Ed. 2d.] p. 314. 
No. 12. Witson. Am. Ornith. 5. p. 83. pl. 42. f. 1. [female]. Aun. 
pl. 97.) 


Sprc. Cuaract. — Reddish -brown; coverts and primaries spotted 
with white, tail barred with dusky ; lower parts white with simple 
longitudinal spots. 


From the very satisfactory and careful observations of 
Dr. Ezra Michener, of New Garden, Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, published in the 8th volume of the Journal 
of the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, it 
appears certain that the Red and Grey “ Screech Owls” 
of the United States are specifically distinct; he has ob- 
served that the Red owls rear young of the same color; 
and that the Grey owls of the preceding species have also 
young which are grey and mottled from the very nest. 


128 BIRDS OF PREY. 


Still different as they are in plumage, the habits of the 
species are nearly alike. ‘The present inhabits and breeds 
in most parts of the United States. In Pennsylvania, they 
are hatched by the latter end of May, breeding in hollow 
trees. ‘The eggs are about 4. 

I have had an opportunity of verifying all that Wilson 
relates of the manners of this species in a Red, or young 
Owl, taken out of a hollow apple tree, which I kept for 
some months. A dark closet was his favorite retreat 
during the day. In the evening he became very lively and 
restless, gliding across the room in which he was confined, 
with a side-long, noiseless flight, as if wafted by the air 
alone; at times he clung to the wainscot, and, unable to 
turn, he brought his head round to his back, so as to pre- 
sent, by the aid of his brilliant eyes, a most spectral and 
unearthly appearance. As the eyes of all the Owls, accor- 
ding to Wilson, are fixed immovably in the socket by means 
of a many-cleft capsular ligament, this provision for the 
free versatile motion of the head appears necessary. When 
approached towards evening, he appeared strongly engaged 
in reconnoitring the object, blowing with a hissing noise 
(shay, shay, shay), common to other species, and stretch- 
ing out his neck with a waving, lateral motion, in a threat- 
ening attitude, and, on a nearer approach, made a snapping 
with the bill, produced by striking together both mandibles, 
as they are equally movable. He was a very expert mouse- 
catcher, swallowed his prey whole, and then, after some 
time, ejected from the bill, the bones, skin, and hair, in 
pellets. He also devoured large flies, which at this time 
came into the room in great numbers, and even the dry 
parts of these were also ejected from the stomach without 
digestion. A pet of this species, which Dr. Michener had, 
drank frequently and was accustomed to wash every day in 
a basin of cold water, during the heat of summer. 


GREAT HORNED, OR CAT OWL. 129 


The Red owl is about 83 inches long,and 21 in alarextent. Bright 
brown or ferruginous. Outer edge of the scapulars white. The five 
first primaries and 3 or 4 of the first greater coverts also spotted with 
white. Tail barred with dusky and pale brown. Chin, breast and 
sides reddish-brown, streaked with black and white. Belly and vent 
white, spotted with brown. Bill bluish grey. Iris bright yellow. 


Subgenus. — Buso. 


Conch of the ear moderate, oval, with a membranous cover. Feet 
thickly covered to the claws with short feathers. The disk or rim of 
feathers round the face not very distinct. 


GREAT HORNED, or CAT OWL. 


(Striz virginiana, Gu. Witson. vi. p. 52. pl. 50. fig. 1. Avpunoy, pl. 
61, [unusually dark and large]. Philad. Museum, No. 410.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Mottled; primaries and tail feathers banded with 
black and dusky; shell of the ear moderate ; wings not extending 
to the tip of the tail; a very large species. 


130 BIRDS OF PREY. 


Tuts species, so nearly related to the Great Eared Owl 
of Europe, is met with occasionally from Hudson’s Bay to 
Florida, and in Oregon; it exists even beyond the tropics, 
being very probably the same bird described by Maregrave 
as inhabiting the forests of Brazil. All climates are alike 
to this Eagle of the night, the king of the nocturnal tribe 
of American birds. ‘The aboriginal inhabitants of the 
country dread his boding howl, dedicating his effigies to 
their solemnities, and, as if he were their sacred bird of 
Minerva, forbid the mockery of his ominous, dismal, and 
almost supernatural cries. His favorite resort, in the dark 
and impenetrable swampy forests, where he dwells in 
chosen solitude secure from the approach of every enemy, 
agrees with the melancholy and sinister traits of his char- 
acter. ‘I'o the surrounding feathered race he is the Pluto 
of the gloomy wilderness, and would scarcely be known 
out of the dismal shades where he hides, but to his victims, 
were he as silent as he 1s solitary. Among the choaking, 
loud, guttural sounds which he sometimes utters, in the dead 
of night, and with a suddenness which always alarms, because 
of his noiseless approach, is the waugh ho! ’waugh ho! 
which, Wilson remarks, was often uttered at the instant of 
sweeping down around his camp fire. Many kinds of owls 
are similarly dazzled and attracted by fire-lights, and oc- 
casionally finding, no doubt, some offal or flesh, thrown 
out by those who encamp in the wilderness, they come 
round the nocturnal blaze with other motives than barely 
those of curiosity. The solitary travellers in these wilds, 
apparently scanning the sinister motive of his visits, pre- 
tend to interpret his address into ‘‘’ Who ’cooks for you 
all!” and with a strong guttural pronunciation of the final 
syllable, to all those who have heard this his common cry, 
the resemblance of sound is well hit, and instantly recalls 
the ghastly serenade of his nocturnal majesty in a manner 


GREAT HORNED, OR CAT OWL. 131 


which is not easily forgotten. The shorter cry, which we 
have mentioned, makes no inconsiderable approach to that 
uttered by the European brother of our species, as given 
by Buffon, namely, *he-hoo, *hoo-hoo, boo-hoo, &c. The 
Greeks called this transatlantic species Byas, either from 
its note, or from the resemblance this bore to the bellow- 
ing of the ox. The Latin name Bubo has also reference 
to the same note of this nocturnal bird. According to 
Frisch, who kept one of these birds alive, its cries varied 
according to circumstances; when hungry it had a muling 
ery like Puhu. I have remarked the young, probably, of 
our species utter the same low, quailing cry, while yet day- 
light, as it sat on the low branch of a tree; the sound of 
both is, at times, also not unlike that made by the Hawks 
or diurnal birds of prey. Indeed, in gloomy weather, I 
have seen our species on the alert, flying about many hours 
before dark, and uttering his call of ’ko ko, ko ko ho. 
Their usual prey is young rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, 
quails, and small birds of various kinds, and when these 
resources fail or diminish, they occasionally prowl pretty 
boldly around the farm-yard in quest of chickens, which 
they seize on the roost. Indeed the European Horned 
Owl frequently contends with the Buzzard for its prey, and 
generally comes off conqueror; blind and infuriate with 
hunger, one of these has been known to dart even upon a 
man, as if for conflict, and was killed in the encounter.* 
My friend Dr. Boykin, of Milledgeville, in Georgia, as- 
sured me that one of our own daring nocturnal adventur- 
ers, prowling round his premises, saw a cat dozing on the 
roof of a smoke-house, and supposing grimalkin a more 
harmless, rabbit-like animal than appeared in the sequel, 
blindly snatched her up in his talons; but finding he had 


* This circumstance happened to a relative of the author’s in Lancashire, in 
whose possession he saw the mounted specimen of the bird. 


132 BIRDS OF PREY. 


caught a Tartar, it was not long before he allowed puss 
once more to tread the ground. In England the same 
error was committed by an Eagle, who, after a severe con- 
flict with a cat he had carried into the air, was at length 
brought to the ground before he could disengage himself 
from the feline grasp.* 

An Owl of this species, which I have observed in a 
cage, appeared very brisk late in the morning, hissed and 
blew when approached with a stick, and dashed at it very 
heedlessly with his bill; he now and then uttered a *ko- 
koh, and was pretty loud in his call at an earlier hour. 
When approached, he circularly contracted the iris of the 
eyes to obtain a clearer view of the threatened object; 
he also listened with great quickness to any sound which 
occurred near his prison, and eyed the flying pigeons, 
which passed by at some distance, with a scrutinizing 
and eager glance. When fed, he often had the habit of 
hiding away his superfluous provision. 

As far as I have been able to observe the retiring man- 
ners of this recluse, he slumbers out the day chiefly in the 
dark tops of lofty trees. In these, according to Wilson, 
he generally begins to build in the month of May, though 
probably earlier in the Southern States. The nest is 
usually placed in the fork of a tree, made of a considera- 
ble pile of sticks, and lined with dry leaves and some 
feathers; and, as a saving of labor, sometimes they select 
a hollow tree for the purpose. The eggs are said to be 4, 
round, of nearly the size of those of a common hen, and 
equally white; those of the Bubo, often deposited in the 
crannies of ruins, or holes of rocks, only 2 and rarely 3, 
exceed in size the egg of the domestic fowl, and are also 
of the same color. 


* A Mr. Barlow, who saw this encounter, published a drawing of the action as 
he had witnessed it. 


ARCTIC OR WHITE HORNED OWL. 133 


The male of this species is about 20 inches in length. The bill is 
black. The irids bright yellow. The horns are broad, and 3 inches 
in length, formed of 12 or 14 feathers, with black webs and edged 
with brownish yellow; the face ferruginous, bounded by a band of 
black ; a whitish space between the bill and eyes. Beneath, marked 
with numerous transverse dusky bars on a yellow and white ground ; 
the vent paler. The feet covered with hair-like pale brown feath- 
ers. Claws black. Tail rounded, and broad, passing an inch be- 
yond the wings, mottled with brown and tawny, and crossed with 
6 or 7 narrow bars of brown. Above, whitish and ferruginous, 
thickly mottled with dusky. Chin whitish, beneath a band of brown, 
and then another narrow one of white. — The Fezale is about 2 feet, 
with the white on the throat less pure, and is also less ferruginous 
below. 


ARCTIC or WHITE HORNED OWL. 


(Strix scandiaca, Linn. S. (Bubo) arctica, Swains. and Ricuarps. 
North. Zool. 11. p. 86. pl. 32. Strix maxima, capite aurito, corpore 
niveo, or Great Horned White Owl, Barrram’s Travels, p. 289.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— White tinged with brown, varied with blackish- 
brown bars and lines; beneath brilliant white, slenderly waved on 
the throat, breast, and flanks; egrets long, composed of 6 or 7 
feathers. 


Or this very rare and beautiful bird only one specimen 
was obtained by Dr. Richardson and the Expedition to 
which he was attached. This was seen flying at mid-day 
in the immediate vicinity of Carlton House, and was 
brought down with an arrow by an Indian boy. 

Imperfect and short as may be the description of this 
bird given by Linnzus, there can be no reasonable doubt 
but that it is the present rare and Arctic bird. Three years 
ago, an individual of the same species was observed in this 
vicinity, also prowling about by day, and remained in the 
neighborhood for two or three days. 


The length 233 inches, according to Richardson. The tail 84. Of 


the bill from above, 1 inch9 lines. The tarsus 2 inches 3 lines. The 
12 


134 BIRDS OF PREY. 


face white, bounded behind by blackish-brown, succeeded by white, 
which two latter colors are continued in a mixed band across the 
throat. The egrets colored at the base like the adjoining plumage, 
the longer feathers tipped with blackish-brown, their inner webs 
white, varied with wood-brown. Above slenderly waved with dark 
umber-brown and white; the white tinged with pale brown on the 
greater wing coverts, some of the scapulars, and particularly on the 
neck and lesser wing coverts. The quills wood-brown, white along 
a great portion of their inner webs, and crossed by from 5 to 6 um- 
ber-brown bars on both webs, and the intervals speckled with the 
same. Tail feathers white, deeply tinged on their inner webs with 
wood-brown, and crossed by 6 bars of dark brown, about half as broad 
as the intervening spaces: their tips are white. — Chin white. The 
throat crossed by a dark band, behind which there is a large space of 
pure white, bounded again below on the breast by blotches of liver- 
brown on the tips of the feathers. Belly and flanks white, crossed 
by narrow, regular waving bars of dark brown. The vent, under 
tail-coverts, thighs and feet pure white. The linings of the wings 
white, with the exception of a brown spot on the tips, of the greater 
interior coverts. Bill and claws bluish-black. Irids yellow. Fascial 
disk small, incomplete above the orbits. Auditory conch oval, and 
without an operculum. Egrets more than 2 inches long. Tips of 
the folded wings, 33 inches from the end of the rounded tail. The 
2d and 3d quills longest. 


Subgenus. — Syrnium. (Sav. Cuvier.) 


Conch of the ear a simple oval cavity, occupying only the half of 
the height of the cranium. Head without tufts, and the disk of 
feathers round the face distinctly developed ; the tarsus feathered to 
the toes. 


GREAT GREY or CINEREOUS OWL. 


(Strix cinerea, Gm. Pennant. vol. 1. p. 268. No. 120. Bonar. Am. 
Orn. pl. 23. fig. 2. Aupus. pl. 353. S. lapponica, TEM. Syrnium 
cinereum, BonapP. p. 6. Birds of Europe and Am.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark umber-brown mottled with whitish; the 
face cinereous, with narrow black concentric circles; the tail ex- 


GREAT GREY OR CINEREOUS OWL. 135 


_ tending beyond the wings, both of which are banded, and the bands 
mottled ; bill yellowish-white ; the irids yellow ; feet and legs grey 
and unspotted. 


Tus is the largest American species known, and, if the 
S. lapponica, common also to the arctic circle, and seldom 
leaving it; being only accidental about Lake Superior, 
and occasionally seen in Massachusetts in the depth of 
severe winters. One was caught perched on a wood-pile, 
in a state of listless inactivity, in the morning after day- 
light, at Marblehead, in February, 1831. This individual 
survived for several months, and showed a great partiality 
for fish and birds. At times he uttered a tremulous 
cry or ho ho ho ho hoo, not very dissimilar to that of the 
mottled Owl. At Hudson’s Bay and Labrador it resides 
the whole year, and was found in the Oregon Territory by 
my friend Mr. Townsend. They associate in pairs; fly 
very low, and feed on mice and hares, which they seize 
with such muscular vigor as sometimes to sink into the 
snow after them afoot deep. With ease it is able to carry 
off the alpine hare alive in its talons. In Europe, the 
species appears wholly confined to the desert regions of 
Lapland ; two or three stragglers being all that have been 
obtained out of that country by naturalists. Pennant adds, 
that it constructs its nest in a pine tree about the middle 
of May, with a few sticks, and lines it with feathers; the 
eggs are 2, and spotted with a darkish color. The young 
take to wing about the close of July. 

Dr. Richardson says that it is by no means a rare bird 
in the Fur Countries, being an inhabitant of all the woody 
districts, lying between Lake Superior and latitudes 67 
or 68°, and between Hudson’s Bay and the Pacific. It is 
common on the borders of Great Bear Lake; and there, 
and in the higher parallels of latitude, it must pursue its 
prey, during the summer months, by day-light. It keeps 


136 BIRDS OF PREY. 


however within the woods, and does not frequent the 
barren grounds, like the Snowy Owl, nor is it so often met 
with in broad day-light as the Hawk Owl, but hunts princi- 
pally when the sun is low, indeed, it is only at such times, 
when the recesses of the woods are deeply shadowed, that 
the American hare and the marine animals, on which the 
Cinereous Owl chiefly preys, come forth to feed. On the 
23d of May I discovered a nest of this Owl, built on the 
top of a lofty balsam poplar, of sticks, and lined with 
feathers. It contained 3 young, which were covered with 
a whitish down. We got them by felling the tree; and 
whilst this operation was going on, the two parent birds 
flew in circles round the objects of their cares, keeping, 
however, so high in the air as to be out of gunshot; they 
did not appear to be dazzled by the light. The young 
ones were kept alive for two months, when they made 
their escape. ‘They had the habit, common also to other 
Owls, of throwing themselves back, and making a loud 
snapping noise with their bills, when any one entered the 
room in which they were kept.” 


The male of this species is 2 feet one or two inches in length, in 
alar extent 4, and weighs about 3 pounds. The irids are yellow. 
Bill pale yellow, almost hid in the feathers of the face. From the 
breast to the vent there is said to be a space about an inch in breadth 
bare of feathers (whether this is constant or accidental we have yet 
to learn). Disks of the face dark grey, edged with black, and about 
Jin number. Feathers round the inner angle of the eye and bill 
black. A whitish space immediately under the chin, bordered be- 
low by dusky feathers. Head, hind part of the neck, back, and 
coverts of the wings, brownish sooty black, mottled or curdled with 
dirty white. The primaries dusky, inclining to white on their edges, 
with broad bars, composed of dusky and pale cinereous stripes ; each 
pale bar, being bordered on either side with a dusky one. Tail 
wedge-formed, extending nearly 3 inches beyond the points of the 
closed wings, irregularly marked with oblique or zigzag strokes of 
brown and muddy white, and barred in the manner of the wings with 


ALUCO OR BROWN OWL. 137 


5 or 6 pale stripes ; the middle feather without bars and covered with 
zigzags. The breast, belly, and rump cinereous white, covered with 
large oblong, partly arrow-shaped, blotches of pale dusky brown, 
becoming narrower and longitudinal towards the vent. The legs 
feathered to the feet, dark cinereous, and without either the spots or 
bars (said to exist in S. lapponica). Claws black and moderate. — The 
female has probably (as described by Bonaparte) the face whitish, with 
black circlets. 


ALUCO or BROWN OWL. 


(Stix aluco, Gmetin. Latuam, Ind. Orn. i. p. 59. [adult.] S. stridula, 
LatuHamM, Ind.i. p. 56. sp. 25. [the young, or Tawny Owt.] 


Spec. Cuaract.— Tawny, with dark brown and small white spots ; 
below yellowish-white, with transverse bars of brown, crossed by 
narrow longitudinal ones of blackish; iris of a blackish blue; the 
wings extending a little beyond the tail; 4th and 5th primaries 
longest. — Female more tawny, often inclining to ferruginous 
red. The Young of a year resemble the female, and have the iris 
brown. 


Tits species, hitherto seen only in Newfoundland, and 
the young suspected to occur at Hudson’s Bay by Pennant, 
is common in Europe, and usually frequents the thickest 
forests. It is a nocturnal kind, lodging constantly in 
hollow trees, and commencing its rambles about dusk. It 
flies lightly and sideways like most of the genus, is a keen 
mouser, and may be decoyed within gun-shot by imitating 
the squeak of that animal. It is however observed to be 
rather dainty, seldom eating more than the fore-quarters of 
its prey, and leaving the rest in its nest untouched. It is 
said now and then to burrow like a rabbit, probably after 
its prey when heard or seen, in which particular it seems 
to follow, in a measure, the habit of the S. cunicularia, or 
Burrowing Owl, already mentioned. Like the Long-Eared 
species, it takes but little trouble about a nest, constantly 
occupying those of other large birds which have become 

12* 


138 BIRDS OF PREY. 


neglected, such as that of the Buzzard, Kestril, Crow, or 
Magpie. Its eggs, 4 or 5 in number, are whitish, and 
round as usual. 

Although, during summer, it lodges constantly in the 
hollow trees of the forest, in winter it occasionally ventures 
to approach habitations and farm-yards, assisting the cat in 
ridding the premises of rats andmice. It also pursues and 
catches small birds, or picks them off their roost, and de- 
vours frogs and beetles. Early in the morning during 
summer, it retires into the woods, and conceals itself in the 
thickest copse, or sleeps away the day, hidden amidst the 
foliage of the most shady trees. Its dismal cry, hod, 60, 00, 
60, 00, 00, 00, resembling the howling of the wolf (ululare), 
originated its name of wlu/a among the Romans. The 
cry of the young bird, or Tawny Owl, is like a shouting or 
hallooing hohd, hohd, hohohoho, which, however unpleas- 
ant, has the curious effect of drawing great numbers of 
small birds around him, at which times, it is probable, he 
repays their insolent curiosity by seizing and feeding on 
the plumpest of them. 


The length of this species is from 15 to 16 inches. The head is 
large and flattened behind. Above, spotted with large touches of 
deep brown; on the scapulars are some large spots of white. Prim- 
aries and tail banded alternately with blackish and greyish rufous. 
The feet feathered to the toes. Occasionally varying to a pure white, 
peppered over with numerous triangular little spots ; also round the 
eyes white, with a black zone ; the down of the legs likewise white, 
with black points. This appears to be nearly an albino. 


Subgenus. — Orus. (Cuvier.) 


Conch of the ear semicircular, extending from the bill towards the 
summit of the head and provided anteriorly with a membranous 
operculum: the head with movable ear-like tufts of feathers; the 
bill rather long; tarsus clothed to the toes.—Its habits chiefly 
nocturnal. 


LONG-EARED OWL. 139 


LONG-EARED OWL. 


(Striz otus, Lin. Witson. vi. p. 73. pl. 51. fig. 3. Philad. Museum, 
No. 434. Aupus. pl. 383. Otus Wilsonianus, Lesson. Traite d’Ornith. 
p. 110. O. Americanus, Bonap. p. 7.) 


Spec. Cuaractr.— Mottled; primaries banded with ferruginous ; 
ear-tufts, long, of about 6 feathers; wings extending to the tip of 
the tail. 


Tuts species, like several others of the genus, appears 
to be almost a denizen of the world, being found from 
Hudson’s Bay to the West Indies, and Brazil, throughout 
Europe, in Africa, northern Asia, and probably China, in 
all which countries it appears to be resident; but seems 
more abundant in certain places in winter, following rats 
and mice to their retreats in or near houses and barns. 
They also prey upon small birds, and in summer destroy 
beetles. They commonly lodge in ruined buildings, the 
caverns of rocks, or in hollow trees. It defends itself with 
great spirit from the attacks of larger birds, making a 
ready use of its bill and talons, and when wounded is 
dangerous and resolute. 

The Long-Eared Owl seldom, if ever, takes the trouble 
to construct a nest of its own; it seeks shelter amidst 
ruins, and in the accidental hollows of trees, and rests 
content with the dilapidated nursery of the Crow, the 
Magpye, that of the Wild Pigeon, of the Buzzard, or even 
the tufted retreat of the squirrel. ‘True to these habits, 
Wilson found one of these Owls sitting on her eggs in the 
deserted nest of the Qua-bird, on the 25th of April, 6 or 
7 miles below Philadelphia, in the midst of the gloomy 
enswamped forest which formed the usual resort of these 
solitary Herons. So well satisfied was she in fact with 
her company, and so peaceable, that one of the Quas had 
a nest in the same tree with the Owl. The eggs are 4 


140 BIRDS OF PREY. 


or 5, white and round at both ends. The young, until 
nearly fully grown, are greyish white, and roost close 
together on a large branch, during the day, sheltered and 
hid amidst the thickest foliage; they acquire their natural 
color in about 15 days. Besides mice and rats, this species 
also preys on field-mice, moles, and beetles. The plaintive 
cry, or hollow moaning made by this bird, ‘ cléw cloud,” 
incessantly repeated during the night, so as to be trouble- 
some where they frequent, is very attractive to the larger 
birds, who, out of curiosity, and for persecution, assemble 
around this species when employed as a decoy, and are 
thus shot, or caught by limed twigs. 


The length of this species is about 14 inches. The tufts or ear- 
like feathers from 6 to 10, black, edged with ochreous and whitish. 
Irids bright yellow. Above, the plumage is ferruginous yellow, 
irregularly spotted with dark brown and light grey. Below, of a pale 
ochre yellow, with oblong spots of blackish brown. Bill black. The 
female has the throat and face white; the latter marked at the sides 
with brown spots. All the plumage is also more tinged with grey- 
ish white. The young before moulting are of a ferruginous white, 
marked with transverse blackish lines. The tail and the wings grey, 
with numerous brown points ; and with 7 or 8 transverse dark brown 
bands. The whole face of a blackish brown. The iris paler, and the 
cere inclining to olive. 


SHORT-EARED OWL. 141 


SHORT-EARED OWL. 


(Strix brachyotus, Latuam. Wirson, iv. p. 64. pl. 33. fig. 3. [male.] 
Avpvs. pl. 432. Brachyotus palustris, GouLp. Bonar. p. 7. 


Spec. Cuaract. — Ear-like tufts inconspicuous, of 2 or 3 very short 
feathers ; general color ochreous, spotted with blackish-brown ; face 
round the eyes blackish; tail, with about 5 bands, not extending 
beyond the tips of the wings. — Female with the general tints paler. 
In the young the face is blackish. 


Tus is another of those nocturnal wanderers which 
now and then arrive amongst us from the northern regions 
where they usually breed. It comes to Hudson’s Bay 
from the south about May; where it makes a nest of dry 
grass on the ground, and, as usual, has white eggs. After 
rearing its brood it departs for the south in September, and 
in its migrations has been met with as far as New Jersey, 
near Philadelphia, where, according to Wilson, it arrives 
in November, and departs in April. Pennant remarks, 
that it has been met with in the southern continent of 
America at the Falkland islands. It is likewise spread 
through every part of Europe, and is common in all the 
forests of Siberia; it also visits the Orkney islands, and 
Iceland, and we have observed it at Atooi one of the 
Sandwich islands in the Pacific, as well as in the territory 
of Oregon. In England it appears and disappears with 
the migrations of the Woodcock. Its food is almost ex- 
clusively mice, for which it watches, seated on a stump, 
with all the vigilance of a cat, listening attentively to the 
low squeak of its prey, to which it is so much alive as to 
be sometimes brought in sight by imitating the sound. 
They are readily attracted by the blaze of nocturnal fires, 
and on such occasions have sometimes had the blind 
temerity to attack men, and come so close to combat, as to 
be knocked down with sticks. When wounded, they also 


142 BIRDS OF PREY. 


display the same courageous ferocity, so as to be dangerous 
to approach. In dark and cloudy weather it sometimes 
ventures abroad by day-lght, takes short flights, and 
when sitting and looking sharply round, it erects the 
short ear-like tufts of feathers on the head, which are at 
other times scarcely visible. Like all other migrating 
birds, roving indifferently over the country in quest of food 
alone, they have sometimes been seen in considerable num- 
bers together; Bewick even remarks, that 28 of them had 
been counted at once in a turnep-field in England. They are 
also numerous in Holland in the months of September and 
October, and in all countries are serviceable for the de- 
struction they make among house and field mice, their prin- 
cipal food. Although they usually breed in high ground, 
they have also been observed in Europe to nest in marshes, 
in the middle of the high herbage, a situation chosen both 
for safety and solitude. 


The length of this species is from 13 to 15 inches (the latter the 
length of Wilson’s bird, whose extent was 3 feet 4 inches). The 
head small. Tail ochreous, with brown bands and tipped with white. 
Beneath isabella yellow, with longitudinal spots of blackish brown. 
Bill black. Feet and toes feathered. Iris of a bright yellow. 


Subgenus. — Utuna. (Cuvier.) 


Conch semicircular, with a membraneous operculum ; the bill ro- 
bust, curved from the base. — Head without tufts. 


BARRED OWL. 143 


BARRED OWL. 


(Striz nebulosa, Lin. Wi1son, iv. p. 61. pl. 33. fig. 2. Philad. Museum, 
No. 464. Aup. pl. 46. Ulula nebulosa, Cuvier, Bonar. p. 7.) 


Spec. CHaract. —Greyish-brown with transverse whitish spots; 
beneath whitish, neck and breast with transverse bars, the belly 
and vent with longitudinal stripes of brown; irids brown; bill 
yellow; the tail extending considerably beyond the tips of the 
wings. — Female with the scapulars of a dark brown, and the 
wings more spotted with white. — The young have the tints deeper ; 
and the bill horn-colored. 


Tuis species inhabits the northern regions of both the 
old and new continent, but with this difference, as in the 
Bald Eagle, that in the ancient continent they seldom wan- 
der beyond the arctic circle, being found no farther to the 
south than Sweden and Norway; while in America, they 
dwell and breed, at least, in all the intermediate region 
from Hudson’s Bay to Florida, being considerably more 
numerous even than other species throughout the swamps 
and dark forests of the southern states. Their food is 
principally rabbits, squirrels, grous, quails, rats, mice, and 
frogs. From necessity, as well as choice, they not unfre- 
quently appear around the farm-house and garden in quest 
of the poultry, particularly young chickens. At these 
times they prow] abroad towards evening, and fly low and 
steadily about, as if beating for their prey. In Alabama, 
Georgia, West Florida, and Louisiana, where they abound, 
they are often to be seen abroad by day, particularly in 
cloudy weather, and, at times, even soar and fly with all 
the address of diurnal birds of prey. Their loud guttural 
call of *koh ’koh ’ko’ko ho, or ’whah’whah’whah’whah-aa, 
may be heard occasionally both by day and night, and, as a 
note of recognition, is readily answered when mimicked, 
so as to decoy the original towards the sound. One which 


144 BIRDS OF PREY. 


I received, in the month of December (1830), was hover- 
ing over a covey of quails, in the day-time; and though 
the sportsman had the same aim, the owl also joined the 
chase, and was alone deterred from his sinister purpose by 
receiving the contents of the gun intended only for the 
more favorite game. Audubon says, that they usually 
nestle in hollow trees, without adding any lining even to 
the cavity ; though they sometimes also take possession of 
the old nests of the Crow or Red-tailed Hawk. The eggs, 
globular and white, are from 4 to 6. When the young 
leave the nest, they still keep together for mutual warmth 
and safety, in the high, shaded branches of the trees where 
they have probably been hatched; and, huddled together 
near the trunk, they escape pretty readily the notice of 
their enemies. On being approached, however, by the 
parents, they utter a hissing call, audible for some dis- 
tance. According to Audubon, when kept in captivity 
they prove very useful in catching mice. Their flesh is 
also eaten by the creoles of Louisiana and considered as 


palatable. 


The length of the male of this species, according to Wilson, is 164 
inches, according to Temminck 214! I have found the female to 
measure, as given by Wilson, 22 inches; Temminck’s measurement 
of the same sex is nearly 235. The face cinereous, striped with 
brown. Above, as well as the tail, of a cinereous brown, barred 
transversely with whitish and yellowish. Wing-coverts thickly spot- 
ted with white. Tail remarkably convex above, barred with 5 or 6 
broad stripes of brown. Fore part of the neck and breast whitish, 
barred transversely with pale brown; below, striped longitudinally 
with the same, to the tail. Legs clothed with short feathers; the 
extremity of the toes covered with scales. 


Subgenus. — Nycrate. (Brehm.) 


Conch very large, and with an operculum. 


Small species, without the ear-like tufts. 


ACADIAN OWL, 145 


ACADIAN OWL. 


(Strix acadica, Gu. Little Owl, Aun. pl. 199. Nyctale acadica, Bonar. 
p. 7. S. passerina, Wi1Lson, iv. p. 66. pl. 34. fig. 1. Philad. Museum, 
No. 522.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dark greyish brown spotted with white ; beneath 
white, spotted with chesnut brown; tail short, not exceeding the 
tips of the wings, with 3 narrow bands of white spots; bill black- 
ish; a small species. — Female, with the tints deeper, and with the 
white spots shaded with yellow. 


Tuts very small species is believed to be an inhabitant 
of the northern regions of both continents, from which in 
Europe it seldom wanders, being even very rare in the 
north of Germany. In the United States it is not uncom- 
mon as far to the south as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 

where it is resident, having apparently a predilection for 
the sea-coast, living and nesting in the Pine trees, or in the 
clefts of rocks, and laying 4 or 5 white eggs. It is gene- 
rally nocturnal ; and if accidentally abroad by day, it flies 
quickly to some shelter from the light. It is very solitary 
in its habits, living wholly in the evergreen forests, and 
coming out only towards night, or early in the morning, in 
search of mice, beetles, moths, and grasshoppers, 

The note of this species is very different from that of 
the Strix passerina, or Little Owl to which it is nearly re- 
lated. This latter kind has a reiterated cry, when flying, 
like Poopoo poopoo. Another note, which it utters sitting, 
appears so much like the human voice, calling out aime, 
hémé, édmé, that, according to Buffon, it deceived one of 
his servants who lodged in one of the old turrets of the 
castle of Montbard; and waking him up at 3 o’clock in 
the morning, with this singular cry, he opened the window 
and called out, ‘‘ Who's there below? my name is not EpMe, 
but Peter!” 

13 


146 BIRDS OF PREY. 


According to Mr. 'T’. MacCulloch, this species utters a 
note which resembles the tinkling of a small bell. In con- 
finement it remains silent, and when handled will some- 
times feign itself to be dead. Audubon says, that it is 
known in Massachusetts by the name of the ‘‘ Whet-Saw,” 
from its uttering in the breeding season, a sound not unlike 
the whetting or filing of saw-teeth. 


The length of the Acadian Owl is about 74 inches, and 18 in alar 
extent. Above, dark greyish-brown, scattered with spots and points 
of white. Below, white with large spots of light brown or chesnut ; 
[upon the flanks, in the European adult, transverse spots of the same 
color.] On the throat and sides of the neck large white spaces. 3 or 
4 narrow bands of white on the tail, formed of spots of that color ; 
the primaries also crossed obliquely with 5 bars of white. The feet 
thickly feathered to the toes. The bill dark lead color, approaching 
black and yellowish at the point, (in Striz Tengmalmi it is yellow.) 
Iris pale yellow. 


TENGMALM’S OWL. 


(Strix Tengmalmi, Temm. Man. d’Orn. i. p. 94. Vureriior, Gal. des 
Ois. pl. 23. Ricuarp. and Swains. North. Zool. ii. p. 94. pl. 32. 
Avup. pl. 380. Nyctale Richardsoni, Bonar. Birds of Europe and 
Am. p.7. Strix passerina, Forster, Phil. Trans. 62. p. 385. No. 
7. New species of Owl, Penny. Arct. Zool. ii. Suppl. p. 60.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dusky-brown spotted with white ; beneath white 
also blotched with dusky ; tail extending far beyond the tips of the 
wings, crossed by 5 narrow bands of white spots; secondaries spot- 
ted with white on their outer webs. A small species. 


Ts is a small and strictly nocturnal species; and so 
much so that when it accidentally wanders abroad by day, 
it is so much dazzled by the light as to be rendered unable 
to make its escape when surprised, and may then be readily 
caught by the hand. Its nocturnal cry consists of a single 
melancholy note, repeated at the long intervals of a minute 


TENGMALM’S OWL. 147 


or two: and it is one of the superstitious practices of the 
Indians to whistle when they hear it; and if the bird re- 
mains silent after this interrogatory challenge, the speedy 
death of the inquirer is augured; and hence among the 
Crees it has acquired the ominous appellation of the Bird 
of Death (Cheepomeséés). According to M. Hutchins, it 
builds a nest of grass, half way up a pine tree, and lays 2 
eggs in the month of May. It feeds on mice and beetles. 
It probably inhabits all the forests of the fur countries from 
Great Slave Lake to the United States. On the banks of 
the Saskatchewan, it is so common, that its voice is heard 
almost every night by the traveller wherever he may select 
his camp. It inhabits the woods along the streams of the 
Rocky Mountains down to the Oregon, and betrays but 
little suspicion when approached. 


According to Richardson its length is 114 inches, measured over 
the crown, while the S. acadica similarly measured gives only 10 
inches. The tail in this species is 5 inches: in S, acadica only three 
inches. The bill whitish on the ridge and at the tip; but dark- 
colored on the sides. Fascial circle blackish round the orbits and at 
the base of the bill; the rest of it is white, with black shafts and 
barbs towards its posterior margin. Ear-feathers blackish-brown with 
a few white spots.— Above liver-brown. The front thickly dotted 
with round white spots, one only, in general, on each feather near its 
tip; but, in a few, there is an indication of a pair of spots lower 
down. (In S. acadica, the white forms linear streaks along the shafts 
of the feathers of the head). Spots on the occiput somewhat distant, 
larger on the back of the neck and shoulders, each spot being re- 
stricted to the middle of the feather. Only 2 or 3 spots on the back, 
but many on the scapulars. A few distant round spots on the lesser 
wing coverts. Coverts of the primaries unspotted, except on their 
inner webs. The quills with 4 or 5 semi-orbicular spots on the mar- 
gin of their outer webs, and as many oblong larger spots, extending 
to near the margins of the inner ones. The outer spots of the 2 first 
primaries are nearly obsolete. The secondaries have 2 spots on their 
outer webs, and usually about 5 on their inner ones. The tail of the 
general color of the upper plumage, crossed by 5 narrow interrupted 


148 BIRDS OF PREY. 


white bands of spots not extending to the shafts of the feathers. — 
Below there is a general mixture of white and dusky-brown, disposed 
in large and confluent spots; the white occupies the lateral margins 
of the feathers. Wing linings white with some blotches of clove- 
brown. The feathers of the legs and feet soiled yellowish-white, 
with some obscure brown markings. Conch of the ear partly semi- 
circular, with a long narrow operculum. The tips of the wings when 
folded are an inch and a quarter shorter than the tail. The 3d quill 
longest, and the 4th is nearly equal with it. 


Nore. Besides the large Sporrrep Ow1, (Wapacutha) of Mr. 
Hutchins, which Dr. Richardson considers as a distinct and valid 
species, I have seen in the collection of the’ ZoOlogical Gardens in 
London a large Owl, labelled, Buzo Maximus from Hudson's Bay- 
An Eared species much greater than Strix virginiana, darker, more 
mixed with fulvous, and without the white crescent under the chin. 
The irids were also fiery red instead of sulphur or golden yellow. 
Whether this species has yet been published or otherwise I am unable 
to say, but leave it to further inquiry. 


SMALL SPARROW OWL. 


(Strix passerinoides, Temm. planche color. 344. [adult]. Aun. pl. 482. 
Lesson. Traite. Orn. p. 104. S. pumila ? IxuigER. [young] ?) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Brown, punctuated with white upon the head, 
wings barred with the same; belly whitish, flamed with brown; 
face grey ; tail barred with pale grey and brown. 


Tuts species, also an inhabitant of Brazil, has not been 
found, as yet on the eastern side of the North American 
continent. Mr. Townsend and myself met with it near 
Fort Vancouver, on the Oregon, where it was also found 
by the late Dr. Gairdner. According to Mr. T. the speci- 
men he killed had been preying on a Ruby-crowned Wren. 
The only bird of this species which I saw was near the 
estuary of the Oregon, towards evening in a shady fir 
wood. It appeared to be very lively and active flitting 
short distances from tree to tree with noiseless pinions, 


WHITE OR BARN OWL. 149 


although at the same time one of its claws was loaded with 
a Sparrow it had caught, and which at length it relinquished, 
on being too closely followed. 


Ear, (according to Audubon) without operculum. Bill greyish- 
yellow, dusky towards the base. Iris yellow, olivaceous-brown ; the 
head punctuated with yellowish-white, having 2 spots on each feather ; 
spots on the rest of the upper parts angular; quills generally with 3 
small and 5 large white spots on the outer and inner webs ; tail 
barred with transversely oblong white spots, of which there are 7 
pairs on the middle feathers. Fascial disk brown, spotted with white ; 
throat white, beneath which a transverse brown band, succeeded by 
a white one ; the lower parts white, with longitudinal dusky streaks. 
— Length 7 inches. 


WHITE or BARN OWL. 


(Strix Americana, Aup. pl. 171. Strix flammea, Lin. WiLson, vi. p. 
57. pl. 50. fig. 2. S. pratincola, Bonap. p. 7.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Yellowish-tawny, or pale yellowish with darkish 
zigzag lines, and small spots of whitish ; beneath whitish, or yel- 
lowish white, generally with dark brownish points; wings extend- 
ing far beyond the tail ; bill whitish. 


Tuere is scarcely any part of the world in which this 
common species is not found; extending even to both 
sides of the equator, it is met with in New Holland, India, 
and Brazil; it is perhaps no where more rare than in this 
part of the United States, and is only met with in Pennsyl- 
vania and New Jersey in cold and severe winters. Nor is 
it ever so familiar as in Europe, frequenting almost uni- 
formly the hollows of trees. In the old continent it is 
almost domestic, inhabiting even populous towns, and is 
particularly attached to towers, belfries, the roofs of 
churches, and other lofty buildings, which afford it a re- 
treat during the day. The elegant graphic lines of Gray, 

13* 


150 BIRDS OF PREY. 


describing its romantic haunt, are in the recollection of 
every one. 


“from yonder itvy-mantled tower, 
The moping owl does to the moon complain 
Of such, as wand’ring near her secret bower, 
Molest her ancient solitary reign.” 


It leaves its dark abode, usually at twilight, at which time 
it makes a blowing hiss after the manner of the Mottled 
Owl, something like shat, shaie, shaieai. It also utters 
other different sharp and grating notes either on the wing 
or at rest, resembling, craié, graié, &c., all of which are 
so uncouth and disagreeable, that, connected with the 
awful scenery of churches and of tombs, in the hours of 
darkness, they inspire dread and terror in the minds of the 
weak, timid, and superstitious. The owl, therefore, has 
been long regarded as a funereal spectre, or a messenger 
of death, and its unwelcome and familiar visits around the 
abode of the sick are thought to be little better than a 
summons to the regions of mortality, among which it de- 
lights to dwell. But ‘so unreasonable is superstition that 
bad and good are sometimes derived from the same omen. 
Thus the Mongul Tartars pay divine honors to this mis- 
represented bird, attributing the preservation of the founder 
of their empire, Gengis Khan, to one of its accidental 
visits to the bush under which he lay hid, his pursuers 
naturally supposing, that no person could be concealed 
where this friend of solitude would venture to perch. 

The cry of this nocturnal bird, discordant as it appears, 
is still in harmony with the scenes and circumstances it 
accompanies, and we may say with Cowper, 

‘‘ The jay, the pie, and e’en the boding owl, 
That hails the rising moon, have charms for me: 
Sounds inharmonious in themselves and harsh, 


Yet, heard in scenes where peace for ever reigns, 
And only these, please highly for their sake.” 


WHITE OR BARN OWL. 151 


Nor are we to suppose that the cries of the Owl are only 
plaints and sounds of distress and inquietude. They are 
not left by nature as spectacles of derision, but have their 
calls of complaisance, of recognition, and attachment, 
which, though discordant to human ears, are yet only or- 
dinary expressions of agreement and necessity. 

Superstition laid aside, the owl renders essential service 
to the farmer by destroying mice, rats, and shrews, which 
infest houses and barns; it also catches bats and beetles. 
They likewise clear churches of such vermin, and now 
and then, pressed by hunger, they have been known to sip, 
or rather eat, the oil from the lamps when congealed by 
cold. A still more extraordinary appetite, attributed to 
the owl, is that of catching fish, on which they fed their 
voracious young.* In autumn also they have been known 
to pay a nightly visit to the places where springes were laid 
for wood-cocks and thrushes. The former they killed and 
ate on the spot, but sometimes carried off the thrushes and 
smaller birds, which, like mice, they either swallowed en- 
tire, rejecting the indigestible parts by the bill; or, if too 
large, they plucked off the feathers and then bolted them 
whole, or only took them down piecemeal. 

In fine weather they venture out into the neighboring 
woods at night, returning to their usual retreat at the ap- 
proach of morning. When they first sally from their 
holes, their eyes hardly well opened, they fly tumbling 
along almost to the ground, and usually proceed side-ways 
in their course. In severe seasons, 5 or 6, probably a 
family brood, are discovered in the same retreat, or con- 
cealed in the fodder of the barn, where they find shelter, 
warmth and food. ‘The Barn Owl drops her eggs in the 


* This happened in England ; gold-fish being missed from a pond, they were 
supposed to be stolen in the night, and the thief turned out at length to be an owl. 


152 BIRDS OF PREY. 


bare holes of walls, in the joists of houses, or in the hol- 
lows of decayed trees, and spreads no lining to receive 
them: they are 3 to 5 in number, of a whitish color, and 
rather long than round. The season of laying, in Europe, 
is from the end of March to the beginning of April. 

When out abroad by day, like most of the other species, 
they are numerously attended by the little gossiping and 
insulting birds of the neighborhood: and to add to their 
distraction, it is not an uncommon practice, in the north 
of England, for boys to set up a shout and follow the Owl, 
-who becomes so deafened and stunned as at times nearly 
to fall down, and thus become an easy prey to his perse- 
cutors; and the probability of such an effect will not be 
surprising, when we consider the delicacy and magnitude 
of the auditory apparatus of this bird, the use of which is, 
probably, necessary to discover the otherwise silent retreats 
of their tiny prey. When taken captive, according to 
Buffon, they do not long survive the loss of liberty, and 
pertinaciously refuse to eat; a habit very different from 
that of the young Red Owl, who allowed himself to feed 
from my hand, and tugged greedily and tamely at the mor- 
sel held out to him until he got it in his possession; small 
birds also he would instantly grasp in his talons, and hiss 
and shaié, shaié, when any attempt was made to deprive 
him of his booty. 

A superstitious legend prevails in the north of England, 
that Pharaoh’s daughter was transformed into an Owl, and 
the. common distich which I have often heard when a 
child, and while the Owl was screaming on a winter’s 
night, ran thus: 


Oh,’ 606 06 
‘«¢T was once a king’s daughter and sat on my father’s knee, 
But now I|’m a poor Hoolet, and hide in a hollow tree !”’ 


an invention that might do credit to the genius of Ovid, 


WHITE OR BARN OWL. 153 


who thus describes this species of Strix, and the etymo- 
logy of its name: 


‘«« Large is their head, and motionless their eye, 
Hook-billed, sharp-clawed, and in the dusk they fly. 
* * * * * * 
Screech- Owls they’re called ; because with dismal cry, 
In darkling night, from place to place they fly.” * 


How this feared and despised bird came to be the em- 
blem of wisdom, the sacred bird of Minerva, among so 
grave and wise a people as the ancient Grecians, is not 
easy to imagine, further, than that it was one of the ever 
fruitful inventions of superstition, adopted by accident; 
and as the loquacity of this stupid and generally silent bird 
would never betray the real defect of his character, his 
solemn looks and taciturn behavior continued to com- 
mand the veneration of the public. 

The young of this species, when they have just attained 
their growth, are, in France, considered good food, as they 
are then fat and plump. When first hatched they are so 
white and downy as almost entirely to resemble a powder 
puff. At Hudson’s Bay, a large Owl, resembling the cin- 
ereous, is likewise eaten and esteemed a delicacy, accord- 
ing to Pennant. 


The Barn Owl is about 14 inches long, and upwards of 3 feet 6 
inches in the stretch of the wings. The bill is whitish and longer 
than usual. The face white, surrounded by a border of narrow, thick- 
set feathers, of a reddish cream color externally. In some individ- 
uals the under side of the body is entirely without spots. Tail pale 
yellow, crossed with 5 bars of brown, and thickly dotted with the 
same. In the female, the tints are paler and clearer. Sometimes a 
variety occurs whitish, or wholly white. 


* Grande caput, stantes oculi, rostra apta rapine 
Canities pennis, unguibus hamus inest. 
* * ~ * * & * * 
Est illis strigibus nomen ; sed nominis hujus 
Causa quod horrenda stridere nocte solent. 
Fastt, lib. vi, 139, 


ORDER SECOND. 


OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. ( Temminck.) 


Wiru the bill of moderate size, strong, stout, and edged 
at the sides; the upper mandible more or less notched at 
the point. The fect provided with 4 toes, 3 of which are 
in front and 1 behind. The wings of moderate size, and 
with the quills pointed. 

Hasirs. The birds which compose this order live in 
bands, or companies, and are usually monagamous. They 
nest upon trees, in the crannies of ruins or old towers, and 
some of the species occupy the natural cavities of decayed 
trees. The male and female also hatch the eggs in turn. 
They live on insects, worms, and carrion, and often add 
likewise to this nourishment grain and fruits. Their flesh 
is usually hard, and unpalatable. 


Family — Greearu. (Llliger.) 


With the bill moderate in size, hard, straight, acute, and sharp on 
the edges; the nostrils at its base, and partly hid; the tongue incapa- 
ble of extension, and cleft or notched at the extremity. The feet ro- 
bust, and the legs naked. The wings of moderate length, and the 
quills pointed at the tips. 

These birds are generally omnivorous, and gregarious most part of 
the year. They build in trees, some also on cliffs, ruims, or round in- 


STARLINGS. 155 


habited dwellings, and also on the ground. Their voice is generally 
loud, quaint, and harsh, seldom harmonious; some have a remarkable 
talent for mimickry. The plumage, when of more than a single 
color, is often eminent for beauty, splendor, and singularity. They 
are in general, easily domesticated, and readily fed. 


§ 1. Birds more usually Gregarious. 


In these the bill is in the form of an elongated cone, entire on its 
edges, and bare at the base, where it presents a sort of open sinus in 
the feathers of the forehead. The outer and middle toes united at 
the base. The tail of 12 feathers. 


STARLINGS. (Srurnus, Lin.) 


The pitt in the form of a lengthened cone, depressed, and some- 
what blunt, with the edges vertical ; above somewhat rounded. Nos- 
tTRILs half closed by an arched membrane. The tongue narrowed, 
sharp, and cleft at the point. The hind nail longest and largest. The 
2d and 3d primaries the longest. 


The female is scarcely distinguishable from the male by the plu- 
mage ; but the young differ rom the adult. There is also a double 
and periodical change in the colors of the bill and feet, as well as in 
the tints and spots with which the plumage is decorated, which takes 
place independently of the annual moult, so that the feathers appear 
to undergo this alteration by the friction of their barbs, as well as the 
action of the air and light; and in spring, after the true moult, the 
numerous spots of the autumnal feathers disappear. 

The Starlings feed principally on insects which they find on the 
ground ; some of the species follow the cattle paths to pick up those 
they disturb, and often alight familiarly on their backs ; they also 
feed on different kinds of seeds, and search for them, like pigeons 
and common fowls, in the ordure of domestic animals. They nest in 
hollow trees, under the tiles and roofings of houses, and in the holes 
of walls; but the Sturnella of America, confined to low meadows 
and savannahs, constructs its nest in tufts of rank grass. Species 
are found in all parts of the globe. The common Starling has been 
taught to articulate words, and sings pretty well in confinement, 
though with something of the monotonous jingle of our common 
Black-bird. 


156 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


STURNELLA. (Vieitt.) AMERICAN STARLING. 


In this the sinus at the base of the bill is deep and 
rounded. With the hind toe as long as the middle one, 
and greatly exceeding the lateral. ‘The wings shortish and 
somewhat rounded. No spurious or additional wing feather 
at the shoulder. The Ist and 5th primaries about equal ; 
the 2d, 3d, and 4th longest; two of the secondaries 
also much elongated. Peculiar to America, very distinct 
from the common Stare, and allied to the following genus, 
but more remotely to the Larks. 


—— 


= S 
2.6 SS SSN 
Spttbaaagd SS 


eu 


AMERICAN STARLING, or MEADOW LARK. 


(Sturnella ludoviciana. Bonar. Avon. pl. 136. Sturnus ludovicianus 
L. Alauda magna, Gu. Caressy. t. 1. pl. 33. Wixson, 3. p. 20. pl. 
19 fig. 2. Philad Museum, No. 5212.) 

Spec. Cuaract.— Beneath and line over the eye bright yellow; a 
black crescent on the breast; and with the 4 lateral tail feathers 
white. 


Tuts well known harmless inhabitant of meadows and 
old fields is not only found in every part of the United 


AMERICAN STARLING OR MEADOW LARK. 157 


States, but appears to be a resident in all the intermediate 
region, from the frigid latitude of 53°,* and the territory 
of Oregon, to the mild table land of Mexico,+ and the 
tropical savannahs of Guiana. In the winter, they abound 
in Alabama and West Florida, so that in some degree, like 
the Jays, and the legitimate Starlings, they partially mi- 
grate in quest of food during the severity of the weather 
in the colder states. It is not however improbable, but 
that most of the migrating families of this bird, which we 
find at this season, have merely travelled eastward from the 
cold western plains that are annually covered with snow. 
They are now seen in considerable numbers in and round 
the salt marshes, roving about in flocks of 10 to 380 or 
more, seeking the shelter of the sea-coast, though not in 
such dense flocks as the true Starlings ; these in the man- 
ner of our common Blackbirds assemble in winter, like 
dark clouds, moving as one body, and when about to de- 
scend, perform progressive circular evolutions in the air 
like a phalanx in the order of battle; and when settled, 
blacken the earth with their numbers, as well as stun the 
ears with their chatter. Like crows also, they seek the 
shelter of reed marshes to pass the night, and in the day 
take the benefit of every sunny and sheltered covert. 

Our Starling, like the American Quail, is sociable, and 
somewhat gregarious; and though many, no doubt, wander 
some distance after food, yet a few, in Pennsylvania, as 
well as in this rigorous climate, may be seen in the market 
after the ground is covered with snow. Wilson even ob- 
served them in the month of February, during a deep 
snow among the heights of the Aleghanies, gleaning their 
scanty pittance on the road, in company with the small 
snow birds. 


* According to Richardson in Franklin’s Journal. } Bullock’s Travels. 


14 


158 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


The flesh of our bird is white, and for size and delicacy 
it is considered little inferior to the Partridge ; but that of 
the European species is black and bitter. 

The flight of the Sturnella is laborious and steady like 
that of the Quail, with the action of the wings renewed at 
short intervals. They often alight on trees, and select 
usually the main branches or topmost twigs on which to 
perch, though their food is commonly collected from the 
ground. At various times of the day, and nearly through 
the winter, in the milder states, their very peculiar lisping, 
long, and rather melancholy note is heard at short inter- 
vals; and, without the variations which are not inconsid- 
erable, bears some resemblance to the slender sing- 
ing and affected pronunciation of é¢ se déé dh, and psédee 
etsili6, or tat sedilio in a slow, wiry shrill tone, and some- 
times differently varied and shortened. ‘The same simple 
ditty is repeated in the spring, when they associate in 
pairs; the female also, as she rises or descends, at this 
time, frequently gives a reiterated guttural chirp, or hur- 
ried twitter like that of the female Red-winged Black-bird. 
I have likewise at times heard them utter notes much more 
musical and vigorous, not very unlike the fine tones of the 
Sky-Lark, but I can by no means compare our lisping 
songster with that blithe “‘ harbinger of day.” There is a 
monotonous affectation in the song of our Lark, which 
appears indeed somewhat allied to the jingling though not 
unpleasant tune of the Starling.* The Stare, moreover, 
had the faculty of imitating human speech, (which ours 
has not, as far as we yet know,) and could indifferently 
speak even French, English, German, Latin, and Greek, 
or any other language within his hearing, and repeat short 


phrases, so that ‘‘‘f can’t get out, I can’t get out,’ says 
fiir Ne ee De a ee eee 

* Sturnus pisitat ore, isitat, pisistrat, was the cry of the Stare to the ears of the 
Romans. 


AMERICAN STARLING OR MEADOW LARK. 159 


the Starling,” which accidentally afforded Sterne such a 
beautiful and pathetic subject for his graphic pen, was pro- 
bably no fiction. 

At the time of pairing our Lark exhibits a little of the 
jealous disposition of his tribe, and, having settled the dis- 
pute which decides his future condition, he retires from 
his fraternity, and, assisted by his mate, selects a thick tuft 
for the reception of his nest, which is pretty compact, 
made of dry, wiry grass, and lined with finer blades of the 
same. It is usually formed with a covered entrance in the 
surrounding withered grass, through which a hidden and 
almost winding path is made, and generally so well con- 
cealed, that the nest is only to be found when the bird is 
flushed. 

The eggs are 4 or 5, white, with a very faint tint of blue, 
almost round, and rather large for the size of the bird, 
marked with numerous small reddish brown spots more 
numerous at the greater end, blended with other lighter 
and darker points and small spots of the same. They 
probably often raise 2 broods in the season. About the 
time of pairing, in the latter end of the month of April, 
they have a call like ’tship, twee, the latter syllable in a 
fine and slender tone, something again allied to the occa- 
sional notes of the Red-winged Blackbird, to which genus, 
(Icterus) our Sturnella is not very remotely allied. To- 
wards the close of June, little else is heard from the species, 
but the noisy twitter of the female, preceded by a hoarse 
and sonorous 77’imp or 7j’ip, accompanied by an impatient 
raising and lowering of the wings, and, in short all the un- 
pleasant and petulant actions of a brood hen, as she is now 
assiduously engaged in fostering and supporting her help- 
less and dependent offspring. 

Their food consists of the larve of various insects, as 
well as worms, beetles, and grass seeds; to assist the di- 


160 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


gestion of which they swallow a considerable portion of 
gravel. It does not appear that this species adds berries 
or fruits of any kind to his fare like the Starling, but 
usually remains the whole summer in moist meadows, and 
in winter retires to the open grassy woods, having no in- 
clination to rob the orchard or garden, and, except in 
winter, is of a shy, timid, and retiring disposition. 


The length of the Sturnella is 104 inches, its extent 164. Above, 
variegated with black, bright bay, and ochreous. Tail wedged, the ~ 
feathers pointed, the 4 outer nearly all white. Sides, thighs, and vent 
pale ochreous, spotted with black. Upper mandible brown, the lower 
bluish white. Iris hazel. Legs and feet large, pale flesh color. In 
the young bird the yellow is much fainter, than in the adult. / Another 
species of this subgenus is found af the Straits of Magellan, darker 
than ours, and beneath of a bright carmine red. They form truly Mite 
very distinct genus, 


TROUPIALS. (lIcrervus, &c.) 


In these birds the BrLz is in the form of an elongated, sharp-pointed 
cone, somewhat compressed, rounded above, and rarely somewhat 
curved ; with the margins inflected. Nosrrits oval, and covered by 
a membrane. Tongue sharp, and cleft at tip. The tarsus rather 
longer than the middle toe ; inner toe but little shorter than the outer, 
and nearly equal to the hind one; the middle toe longest; the hind 
nail twice as large asthe others. Wings sharp. The Ist primary but 
little shorter than the 3d and 4th, which are longest. 

The Female is very different from the male ; but the young are very 
like the former. They generally moult once a year, but the colors 
are brighter in spring; in autumn and winter the plumage of the 
male somewhat resembles that of the female. — They are gregarious, 
and usually omnivorous ; building mostly in trees or bushes ; some of 
them are partly polygamous. Their gait is rather quick, with the 
body almost erect, the flight vigorous. Their flesh not usually 
esteemed.— A genus exclusively American. Some of those of the 
first section, Cassicus, possess considerable melody and power of 
voice ; as well as those of the genera Icterus and Dolichonyz. 


HANG-NEST. 161 


ICTERUS. (Brisson.) HANG-NEST. 


Wiru the bill narrower and slightly bent towards the 
point; the frontal sinus of the bill acute, but not deep. 
Female scarcely differing in size from the male. — These 
are not constantly gregarious, only so during the peried of 
migration, and before incubation; they also frequent 
forests; feeding chiefly on insects and berries, though 
when in confinement capable of digesting other vegetable 
food. In the breeding season they are usually seen in 
pairs ; and make very ingenious pensile nests. Allied some- 
what to the warblers of the subgenus Dacnis. 


14* 


ty \- S 
% i * \ 7 sh. 

a SUS NG HY. 
® } 2 AQ Mba j 


BALTIMORE ORIOLE, orn GOLDEN ROBIN. 


(Icterus baltimore, Davpin. Oriolus baltimore, Wison, 1. p. 23. pl. 1. 
fig. 3 [male] and 6. p. 8&8. pl. 53. fig. 4. [female.] Aupuzon, pl. 
12. [a nest, and very fine group.] Philad. Museum. No.] 

Sp. Cuaract. — Tail nearly even. — Male orange ; head, neck, throat, 
back, wings, and tail, black ; the lateral tail feathers orange at the 


summit. — Female and young, with the orange color pale ; the black 
also greyish, mottled with yellow, and the tail orange. 


Tuese gay, lively, and brilliant strangers, leaving their 
hibernal retreat in South America, appear among us about 
the first week in May, and more than a month earlier in 


BALTIMORE ORIOLE, OR GOLDEN ROBIN. 163 


Louisiana, according to the observations of Audubon. 
They were not seen, however, in West Florida by the 
middle of March, although vegetation had then so far ad- 
vanced, that the oaks were in leaf, and the white flowering 
Cornel* was in full blossom. 

It is here that they pass the most interesting period of 
their lives; and their arrival is hailed as the sure harbin- 
ger of approaching summer. Full of life and activity, 
these fiery sylphs are now seen vaulting and darting in- 
cessantly through the lofty boughs of our tallest trees; 
appearing and vanishing with restless inquietude, and 
flashing at quick intervals into sight, from amidst the 
tender waving foliage, they seem like living gems intended 
to decorate the verdant garment of the new clad forest. 
But the gay Baltimore is neither idle nor capricious; the 
beautiful small beetles and other active winged insects on 
which he now principally feeds, are in constant motion, 
and require perpetual address in their capture. At first 
the males only arrive, but without appearing in flocks; 
their mates are yet behind, and their social delight is in- 
complete. They appear to feel this temporary bereave- 
ment, and in shrill and loud notes, they fife out their tender 
plaints, in quick succession, as they pry and_ spring 
through the shady boughs for their tiny and eluding prey. 
They also now spend much time in the apple trees, often 
sipping honey from the white blossoms over which they 
wander with peculiar delight, continually roving amidst the 
sweet and flowery profusion. ‘The mellow whistled notes 
which they are heard to trumpet from the high branches of 
our tallest trees and gigantic elms, resemble, at times, 
'tshippe-tshayva too too, and sometimes ’tshippee ’tshippee, 
(lispingly) foo too, (with the 2 last syllables loud and full.) 


* Cornus florida. 


164 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS, 


These notes are also varied by some birds so as to resem- 
ble ’tsh ’tsh ’tsheetshoo tshoo tshoo* also ’tsh ’tsheefa 
'tsheefa ’tsheefa tshoo and ’k’tuf a tif a tuf a téa kerry ;+ 
another bird I have occasionally heard to call for hours, 
with some little variation, tz, téo teo téo too in a loud, 
querulous, and yet almost ludicrously merry strain. At 
other intervals, the sensations of solitude seem to stimulate 
sometimes a loud and interrogatory note, echoed forth at 
intervals, as k’rry kerry ? and terminating plaintwely /’rry 
krry krry,’ti, the voice falling off very slenderly in the 
last long syllable, which is apparently an imitation from 
the Cardinal Grosbeak, and the rest is derived from the 
Crested Titmouse whom they have already heard in con- 
cert as they passed through the warmer states. Another 
interrogatory strain which I heard here in the spring of 
1830 was precisely, ’yip ’k’rry, ’yip,’’yip k’rry, very lona 
and oft repeated. Another male went in his ordinary 
tshérry tshérry, tshipee tsh’rry, notes copied from t! 
haustless stock of the Carolina Wren (also heard 
passage), but modulated to suit the fancy of our vevast. 
The female likewise sings, but less agreeably than the 
male. One which I had abundant opportunity of observ- 
ing, while busied in the toil of weaving her complicated 
nest, every now and then, as a relief from the drudgery in 
which she was solely engaged, sung, in a sort of querulous 
and rather plaintive strain, the strange, uncouth syllables, 
ka kea ’kowad, keka keka, the final tones loud and vaulting, 
which I have little doubt were an imitation of the dis- 
cordant notes of some South American bird. For many 
days she continued this tune at intervals without any 


* The first 3 of these notes are derived from the Summer Yellow Bird, though 
not its most usual tones. 

+ The last phrase loud and ascending, the tea plaintive, and the last syllable 
tender and echoing. 


BALTIMORE ORIOLE, OR GOLDEN ROBIN. 165 


variation. The male, also while seeking his food in the 
same tree with his mate, or while they are both attending 
on their unfledged brood, calls frequently in a low friendly 
whisper “twait, *twit. Indeed, all the individuals of 
either sex, appear pertinaciously to adhere for weeks to 
the same quaint syllables which they have accidentally 
collected. 

This bird then, like the Starling, appears to have a taste 
for mimickry, or rather for sober imitation. A Cardinal 
Grosbeak happening, very unusually, to pay us a visit, his 
harmonious and bold whistle struck upon the ear of a 
Baltimore with great delight, and from that moment his 
ordinary notes were laid aside for ’wott ’wott teu, and 
other phrases previously foreign to him for that season. I 
have likewise heard another individual exactly imitating 
the soft and somewhat plaintive wit yu, vit yi of the same 
bird, and in the next breath the pewt, or call of Wilson’s 
Thrush; also, at times the earnest song of the Robin. 
Indeed his variations and imitations have sometimes led 
me to believe that I heard several new and melodious birds, 
and I was only undeceived when I beheld his brilliant 
livery. So various, in fact, are the individual phrases 
chanted by this restless and lively bird, that it is scarcely 
possible to fix on any characteristic notes by which he may 
be recognised ; his singular, loud, and almost plaintive tone; 
and a fondness for harping long on the same string, are 
perhaps more peculiar than any particular syllables, which 
he may be heard to utter. When alarmed or offended at 
being too closely watched or approached, they both utter 
an angry, rattling tsher tsh’r, or hiss, tsh’ tsh’ tsh’ ’tsh. 

The beautiful Baltimore bird is only one of the tribe of 
true Ictert, which, except the present and two following 
species, remain within the tropical regions, or only migrate 
to short distances in the rainy season. Ours wing their 


166 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


way even into Canada as far as the 55th degree, and breed 
in every intermediate region to the table land of Mexico. 
A yellow Brazilian species of the section of this genus 
called Cassicus, according to Waterton, inhabits also 
Demerara, where, like our bird, he familiarly weaves his 
pendulous nest near the planter’s house, suspending it from 
the drooping branches of trees, and so low that it may be 
readily looked into even by the incurious. Omnivorous 
like the Starling, it feeds equally on insects, fruits, and 
seeds. It is called the Mocking-bird, and for hours 
together, in gratitude as it were for protection, he serenades 
the inhabitants with his imitative notes. His own song, 
though short, is sweet and melodious. But hearing per- 
_ haps the yelping of the Toucan, he drops his native strain 
to imitate it, or placeit in ridicule by contrast. Again, he 
gives the cackling cries of the Woodpecker, the bleating 
of the sheep; an interval of his own melody, then probably 
a puppy dog, or a Guinea fowl, receives his usual atten- 
tion; and the whole of this mimickry is accompanied by 
antic gestures, indicative of the sport and company which 
these vagaries afford him. Hence we see that the mim- 
icking talent of the Stare is inherent in this branch of the 
gregarious family, and our own Baltimore, in a humbler 
style, is no less delighted with the notes of his feathered 
neighbors. 

There is nothing more remarkable in the whole instinct 
of our Golden Robin than the ingenuity displayed in the 
fabrication of its nest, which is, in fact, a pendulous 
cylindric pouch of 5 to 7 inches in depth, usually suspended 
from near the extremities of the high, drooping branches of 
trees, (such as the elm, the pear, or apple-tree, wild-cherry, 
weeping-willow, tulip-tree, or button-wood.) It is begun, 
by firmly fastening natural strings of the flax of the silk 


BALTIMORE ORIOLE, OR GOLDEN ROBIN. 167 


weed,* or swamp-holyhock,+ or stout artificial threads, 
round two or more forked twigs, corresponding to the in- 
tended width and depth of the nest. With the same mate- 
rials, willow down, or any accidental ravellings, strings, 
thread, sewing-silk, tow, or wool, that may be lying near 
the neighboring houses, or round the grafts of trees, they 
interweave and fabricate a sort of coarse cloth into the 
form intended; towards the bottom of which they place 
the real nest, made chiefly of lint, wiry grass, horse and 
cow hair, sometimes, in defect of hair, lining the interior 
with a mixture of slender strips of smooth vine bark, and 
rarely with a few feathers, the whole being of a considera- 
ble thickness, and more or less attached to the external 
pouch. Over the top, the leaves, as they grow out, form a 
verdant and agreeable canopy, defending the young from 
the sun and rain. There is sometimes a considerable dif- 
ference in the manufacture of these nests, as well as in the 
materials which enter into their composition. Both sexes 
seem to be equally adepts at this sort of labor, and I have 
seen the female alone perform the whole without any assist- 
ance, and the male also complete this laborious task nearly 
without the aid of his consort; who, however, in general, 
is the principal worker. I have observed a nest made 
almost wholly of tow, which was laid out for the conve- 
nience of a male bird; who, with this aid, completed his 
labor in a very short time, and frequently sung in a very 
ludicrous manner, while his mouth was loaded with a mass 
larger than his head. So eager are they to obtain fibrous 
materials, that they will readily tug at, and even untie hard 
knots made of tow. In Audubon’s magnificent plates, a 
nest is represented as formed outwardly of the Long-Moss ; 
where this abounds, of course, the labor of obtaining ma- 


* Asclepias species. } Hibiscus palustris. t Tillandsia usneoides. 


165 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


terials must be greatly abridged. The author likewise 
remarks, that the whole fabric consists almost entirely of 
this material, loosely interwoven, without any warm lining, 
a labor which our ingenious artist seems aware would be 
superfluous in the warm forests of the lower Mississippi. 
A female, which I observed attentively, carried off to her 
nest a piece of lamp-wick 10 or 12 feet long. This long 
string, and many other shorter ones, were left hanging out 
for about a week before both the ends were wattled into 
the sides of the nest. Some other little birds, making use 
of similar materials, at times twitched these flowing ends, 
and generally brought out the busy Baltimore from her oc- 
cupation in great anger. 

The haste and eagerness of one of these airy architects, 
which [ accidentally observed on the banks of the Susque- 
hannah, appeared likely to prove fatal to a busy female, 
who, in weaving, got a loop round her neck, and no sooner 
was she disengaged from this snare, than it was slipped round 
her feet, and thus held her fast beyond the power of es- 
cape! The male came frequently to the scene, now 
changed from that of joy and hope, into despair, but 
seemed wholly incapable of comprehending or relieving 
the distress of his mate. In a second instance, I have 
been told, that a female has been observed dead in the like 
predicament. 

The eggs of this species are usually 4 or 5, white, with 
a faint, indistinct tint of bluish, and marked, chiefly at 
the greater end, though sometimes scatteringly, with 
straggling, serpentine, dark brown lines and spots, and 
fainter hair streaks,* looking sometimes almost like real 
hair, and occasionally lined only, and without the spots. 


* The eggs which I have seen do not resemble Wilson’s figure, plate 4; though 
they may vary as much. 


BALTIMORE ORIOLE, OR GOLDEN ROBIN. 169 


The period of incubation is 14 days.* In Louisiana, ac- 
cording to Audubon, they frequently raise two broods in 
the season, arriving in that country with the opening of 
the early spring. Here they raise but a single brood, 
whose long and tedious support in their lofty cradle absorbs 
their whole attention ; and at this interesting period, they 
seem, as it were, to live only to protect, cherish, and edu- 
cate their young. ‘The first and general cry which the in- 
fant brood utter while yet in the nest, and nearly able to 
take wing, as well as for some days after, is a kind of té-did 
té-did, té-did, kai-té-té-did, or ’té ’té ’té ’té ’ti ’t-did, which 
becomes clamorous as the parents approach them with 
food. ‘They soon also acquire the scolding rattle and 
short notes which they probably hear around them, such 
as peet-weet, the cry of the spotted Sandpiper, and others, 
and long continue to be assiduously fed and guarded by 
their very affectionate and devoted parents. Unfortunately, 
this contrivance of instinct to secure the airy nest from 
the depredations of rapacious monkeys, and other animals 
which frequent trees in warm or mild climates, is, also, oc- 
casionally attended with serious accidents, when the young 
escape before obtaining the perfect use of their wings. 
They cling, however, with great tenacity, either to the 
nest or neighboring twigs; yet sometimes they fall to the 
ground, and, if not killed on the spot, soon become a prey 
to numerous enemies. On such occasions it is painful to 
hear the plaints and wailing cries of the parents. And 
when real danger offers, the generous and brilliant male, 
though much the less querulous of the two, steps in to save 
his brood at every hazard; and I have known one so bold 
in this hopeless defence, as to suffer himself to be killed, 
by a near approach with a stick, rather than desert his 


* Audubon, vel. i. p. 68. 
15 


170 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


offspring. Sometimes, after this misfortune, or when the 
fell cat has devoured the helpless brood, day after day the 
disconsolate parents continue to bewail their loss. They 
almost forget to eat amidst their distress, and after leaving 
the unhappy neighborhood of their bereavement, they still 
come, at intervals, to visit and lament over the fatal spot, 
as if spell-bound by despair. If the season be not too far 
advanced, the loss of their eggs is generally soon repaired 
by constructing a second nest, in which, however, the eggs 
are fewer. 

The true Oriole (O. galbula), which migrates into Afri- 
ca, and passes the breeding season in the centre of Europe, 
also makes a pendulous nest, and displays great courage in 
the defence of its young, being so attached to its progeny, 
that the female has been taken and conveyed to a cage on 
her eggs, on which, with resolute and fatal instinct, she 
remained faithfully sitting until she expired. 

The Baltimore bird, though naturally shy and suspicious, 
probably for greater security from more dangerous enemies, 
generally chooses for his nest the largest and tallest spread- 
ing trees near farm-houses, and along frequented lanes and 
roads ; and trusting to the inaccessibleness of his ingenious 
mansion, he works fearlessly, and scarcely studies con-_ 
cealment. But, as soon as the young are hatched, here, 
towards the close of June, the whole family begin to leave 
the immediate neighborhood of their cares, flit through 
the woods, a shy, roving, and nearly silent train; and 
when ready for the distant journey before them, about the 
end of August or beginning of September, the whole at 
once disappear; and probably arrive, as with us, amidst 
the forests of South America, in a scattered flock, and 
continue, like Starlings, to pass the winter in celibacy, 
wholly engaged in gleaning a quiet subsistence until the 
return of spring. Then, incited by instinct to prepare 


BALTIMORE ORIOLE, OR GOLDEN ROBIN. 171 


for a more powerful passion, they again wing their way to 
the regions of the north; where, but for this wonderful 
instinct of migration, the whole race would perish in a 
single season. As the sexes usually arrive in different 
flocks, it is evident, that the conjugal tie ceases at the 
period of migration, and the choice of mates is renewed 
with the season; during which the males, and sometimes 
also the females, carry on their jealous disputes with 
much obstinacy. 

That our Oriole is not familiar with us, independent of 
the all powerful natural impulse which he obeys, is suffi- 
ciently obvious when he nests in the woods. Two of 
these solitary and retiring pairs had this summer, contrary 
to their usual habits, taken up their abode in the lofty 
branches of a gigantic Button-wood in the forest. As 
soon as we appeared, they took the alarm, and remained 
uneasy and irritable until we were wholly out of sight. 
Others, again, visit the heart of the populous city, and 
pour forth their wild and plaintive songs from the trees 
which decorate the streets and gardens, amid the din of 
the passing crowd, and the tumult of incessant and noisy 
occupations. Audubon remarks, that their migrations are 
performed singly, and during the day, and that they pro- 
ceed high, and fly straight and continuous. 

The food of the Baltimore appears to be small caterpil- 
lars, sometimes those of the apple-trees, some uncommon 
kinds of beetles, cimices, and small flies, like a species of 
cynips. Occasionally I have seen an individual collecting 
Cicindeli by the sides of sandy and gravelly roads. They 
feed their young usually with soft caterpillars, which they 
swallow, and disgorge on arriving at the nest; and in this 
necessary toil both sexes assiduously unite. ‘They seldom 
molest any of the fruits of our gardens, except a few 
cherries and mulberries, and are the most harmless, use- 


Te OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


ful, beautiful and common birds of the country. They 
are, however, accused of sometimes accompanying their 
young to the garden peas, which they devour while small 
and green, and, being now partly gregarious, the damage 
they commit is at times rendered visible. Occasionally 
they are seen in cages, being chiefly fed on soaked bread, 
or meal and water; they appear also fond of cherries, 
strawberries, currants, raisins, and figs, so that we may 
justly consider them, like the Cassicans and Starlings, as 
omnivorous, though in a less degree.* They sing, and 
appear lively in confinement or domestication, and become 
very docile, playful, and friendly, even going in and out of 
the house, and sometimes alighting at a whistle on the 
hand of their protector. The young, for a while, require 
to be fed on animal food alone, and the most suitable ap- 
pears to be fresh minced meat, soaked in new milk. In 
this way they may be easily raised almost from the first 
hatching ; but at this time vegetable substances appear to 
afford them no kind of nutrition, and at all times they will 
thrive better, if indulged with a little animal food or in- 
sects, as well as hard boiled eggs. 

The summer range of this beautiful bird in the fur coun- 
tries extends to the 55th degree of latitude, arriving on 
the plains of the Saskatchewan, according to Richardson, 
about the 10th of May, or nearly as early as their arrival in 
Massachusetts. Those which thus visit the wilds of Can- 
ada, in all probability proceed at once from Mexico, or 
ascend the great valley of the Mississippi and Missouri. 

I have had a male bird in astate of domestication, raised 
from the nest very readily on fresh minced meat soaked in 
milk. When established, his principal food was scalded 


i 


* The true Oriole, scarcely distinct from our Vireo, lives upon insects, is very 
fond of cherries and fresh figs, and will also eat peas. 


BALTIMORE ORIOLE, OR GOLDEN ROBIN. 173 


indian corn meal, on which he fed contentedly, but was 
also fond of sweet cakes, insects of all descriptions, and 
nearly every kind of fruit. In short, he eat every thing 
he would in a state of nature, and did not refuse to taste 
and eat of every thing but the condiments which enter 
into the multifarious diet of the human species: he was 
literally omnivorous. 

No bird could become more tame, allowing himself to 
be handled with patient indifference, and sometimes with 
playfulness. ‘The singular mechanical application of his 
bill was remarkable, and explains at once the ingenious art 
employed by the species in weaving their nest. If the 
folded hand was presented to our familiar Oriole, he en- 
deavored to open it by inserting his pointed and straight 
bill betwixt the closed fingers, and then by pressing open 
the bill with great muscular force, in the manner of an 
opening pair of compasses, he contrived, if the force was 
not great, to open the hand and examine its contents. If 
brought to the face he did the same with the mouth, and 
would try hard to open the closed teeth. In this way, by 
pressing open any yielding interstice, he could readily in- 
sert the threads of his nest, and pass them through an 
infinity of openings so as to form the ingenious net-work 
or basis of his suspensory and procreant cradle. 


The Baltinore Bird is 7 inches in length; the bill bluish black. 
Exterior edges of the greater wing-coverts, edges of the secondaries, 
and part of those of the primaries, white. The tail-feathers under 
the coverts, orange ; the 2 middle ones from thence to the tips, black ; 
the next 5 on each side black near the covert, and orange towards 
the extremities. Legs and feet lead-color. The iris, hazel.— The 
white on the wing-coverts in the female is yellowish ; the under parts, 
not so brilliant an orange, approaching scarlet on the breast, are, in 
this sex, much duller ; the back also of a dull black, and each feather 
skirted with olive yellow. The wing feathers of a deep dirty brown. 
The tail olive yellow ; but in others, according to age, the 2 middle 


15* 


174 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


feathers become partially or wholly black. Some of the males which 
arrive in the spring have the tail wholly yellow; at times, only the 
2 middle feathers black, and frequently the black on the back is still 
skirted with orange, and the tail tipped with the same color. The 
male moults, before his departure, into the same brilliant dress in 
which he arrives. 


WESTERN TROOPIAL. 


(Icterus Bullockiz, Swains. Avp. pl. 388. f.5. and pl. 433. f. 2. [fe- 
male.] Xanthornus Bullockii, Swaixs. Mexic. Birds. Phil. Mag. 
1827. p. 430.) 


Spec. Cnaract.— Tail nearly even.— Male with the forehead, a 
band over the eye, cheeks, sides of the neck, and breast orange, a 
large white patch on the wing; above, except the rump, black; 4 
middle tail feathers black.— Female and young, above greyish 
olive ; below greenish-yellow ; tail yellow with a tint of olive. 


Tunis fine species inhabits nearly the same limits with 
the Yellow-Headed Troopial, as far as Mexico; and west- 
ward along the woody borders of the Platte, beyond Lari- 
mie’s Fork, to the shores of the Oregon and the Pacific, 
it appears to occupy the place of our Baltimore Bird, con- 
structing also a very similar nest in the branches of the 
Balsam poplar. In the latter part of April they also arrive 
round Santa Barbara in Upper California; the males as 
usual in scattering parties before the femaleS, uttering the 
same plaintive fifing warble as its eastern representative, 
but more brief and less varied; they likewise conceal 
themselves for a length of time while gleaning for larva, 
~ or sipping the sweet juices of the blossoms of trees. They 
are more shy than the Baltimore Bird, and seem to dwell 
and roam entirely in the forests, never approaching the 
gardens or precincts of habitations. 


SPURIOUS OR ORCHARD ORIOLE. Vis 


Length 73 inches; alar extent 11. Bill longer than in the Balti- 
more Oriole, greyish-blue. Upper part of the head, hind neck, ante- 
rior portion of the back, lores, base of the lower mandible, and a 
narrow longitudinal band on the throat, black. Anterior part of the 
forehead, a band over the eye, cheeks, sides of the neck, and the 
breast, orange ; the rest of the lower parts paler; rump yellow, tinged 
with olive ; wings dusky, with a large patch of white, quills mar- 
gined with white, 4 middle tail feathers black, all the rest orange yel- 
low, with a dusky patch near the end. | 


SPURIOUS or ORCHARD ORIOLE. 


(Icterus spurius, Bonar. Oriolus spurius, Lix. Wixson, i. p. 64. pl. 4. 
fig. 1. [female.] fig. 2. [a male of 2 years.] fig. 3. [a male of 3 
years.] fig. 4. [the adult male.] Avpuzon, pl.42. Philad. Museum, 
No. 1508.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Tail wedge-formed.— Male bright chesnut ; the 
head and neck, back, wings, and tail black. — Female and young 
of one year, yellow olive, inclining to brown, beneath yellow; 
wings and tail dusky brown. — The young male, the same, but with 
the throat black. 


Tuts smaller and plainer species has many of the habits 
of the Baltimore Bird, and arrives in Pennsylvania about 
a week later. They enter the southern boundary of the 
United States early in March, and remain there until Octo- 
ber.* They do not however, I believe, often migrate far- 
ther north and east, than the state of Connecticut. I have 
never seen or heard of them in Massachusetts, any more 
than my scientific friend, and close observer, Mr. C. Pick- 
ering. Their stay in the United States, it appears from 
Wilson, is little more than 4 months; as they retire to 
South America early in September, or, at least, do not 
winter in the Southern States. According to my friend 


* Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, vol. i. p. 224. 


176 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Mr. Ware, they breed at Augusta, in Georgia; and Mr. 
Say observed the Orchard Oriole at Major Long’s winter 
quarters on the banks of the Missouri. Audubon has also 
observed the species towards the sources of the Missis- 
sippi, as well as in the state of Maine. The same author 
likewise remarks, that their northern migrations, like those 
of the Baltimore Bird, are performed by day, and that the 
males arrive a week or ten days sooner than their mates. 
They appear to affect the elevated and airy regions of the 
Alleghany mountains, where they are much more nume- 
rous than the Baltimore. 

The Orchard Oriole is an exceedingly active, sprightly, 
and restless bird; in the same instant almost, he is on the 
ground after some fallen insect, fluttering amidst the foli- 
age of the trees, prying and springing after his lurking 
prey, or flying, and tuning his lively notes, in a manner 
so hurried, rapid, and seemingly confused, that the ear is 
scarce able to thread out the shrill and lively tones of his 
agitated ditty. Between these hurried attempts, he also 
gives others, which are distinct and agreeable, and not un- 
like the sweet warble of the Red-Breasted Grosbeak, 
though more brief and less varied. In choosing the situa- 
tion of his nest he is equally familiar with the Baltimore 
Oriole, and seems to enjoy the general society of his spe- 
cies, suspending his most ingenious and pensile fabric from 
the bending twig of the apple-tree, which, like the nest of 
the other, is constructed in the form of a pouch from 3 to 
5 inches in depth, according to the strength or flexibility 
of the tree on which he labors; so that in a weeping wil- 
low, according to Wilson, the nest is one or two inches 
deeper, than if in an apple-tree, to obviate the danger of 
throwing out the eggs and young by the sweep of the long, 
pendulous branches. It is, likewise, slighter, as the crowd- 
ing leaves of that tree afford a natural shelter of consider- 


SPURIOUS OR ORCHARD ORIOLE. V4 


able thickness. That economy of this kind should be 
studied by the Orchard Oriole, will scarcely surprise so 
much, as the laborious ingenuity, and beautiful tissue of 
its nest. It ismade exteriorly of a fine woven mat of long, 
tough, and flexible grass, as if darned with a needle. The 
form is hemispherical, and the inside is lined with downy 
substances; sometimes the wool of the seeds of the But- 
tonwood, forming thus a commodious and soft bed for the 
young. ‘This precaution of a warm lining, as in the pre- 
ceding species, is, according to Audubon, dispensed with 
in the warm climate of Louisiana. he eggs are 4 or 5, 
of a very pale bluish tint, with a few points of brown, and 
spots of dark purple, chiefly disposed at the greater end. 
The female sits about 14 days; and the young continue in 
the nest 10 days before they become qualified to flit along 
with their parents; but they are generally seen abroad 
about the middle of June. Previously to their departure, 
the young, leaving the care of their parents, become gre- 
garious, and assemble sometimes in flocks of separate 
sexes, from 30 to 40 or upwards; in the south frequenting 
the savannahs, feeding much on crickets, grasshoppers, 
and spiders; and at this season their flesh is much esteemed 
by the inhabitants.* Wilson found them easy to raise 
from the nest, but does not say on what they were fed, 
though they probably require the same treatment as the 
Baltimore Oriole. According to Audubon, they sing with 
great liveliness in cages, being fed on rice and dry fruits, 
when fresh cannot be procured. ‘Their ordinary diet, it 
appears, is caterpillars and insects, of which they destroy 
great quantities. In the course of the season they likewise 
feed on various kinds of juicy fruits and berries, but their 
depredations on the fruits of the orchard are very unim- 
portant. 


* Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, vol. i. p. 224. 


178 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


The Orchard Oriole is about 64 inches in length. The bill and 
legs of the same color nearly as in the 2 preceding species ; the for- 
mer, however, is a little bent, and very sharp at the point. The iris 
hazel. The male, in the 3d moult, is mottled on the upper parts of 
the back with black and olive, and on the belly, sides, and breast the 
reddish bay begins irregularly to appear, blended with yellow ; and 
generally the 2 middle feathers of the tail are black, the others being 
centered with the same color. 


Subgenus — Xantuornvs. (Cuv.) AcEtarus, ( Vierll. 
Bonap. Aud.) 


With the bill robust and straight, horizontally flattened above, and 
the frontal sinus ending in an acute but shallow angle. — The female 
somewhat less than the male. These birds are constantly gregarious, 
and live chiefly in meadows, or round open bushy swamps. They 
feed principally on insects and seeds; build in society, and construct 
convenient, but not very artful nests. 


RED-WINGED BLACK-BIRD, or TROOPIAL. 


(Icterus pheniceus, Daup. Bonap. Aupuson, pl. 67. [the male, a 
small specimen]. Sturnus predatorius, Wixson, 4. p. 30. pl. 30. fig. 
1. [male in summer dress]. fig. 2 [female]. Philad. Museum, No. 
1466, 1467.) 


Sp. Cuaract. — Black ; lesser wing coverts vermilion red. — Young 
and autumnal male, above, with the feathers, skirted with ferrugin- 
ous. — Female, dusky brown, varied with ferruginous and whitish, 
sometimes also with the lesser wing-coverts spotted with black and 
the red of the male. 


Tue Red-Winged Troopial in summer inhabits the 
whole of North America from Nova Scotia to Mexico, 
and is found in the interior from the 53d degree across the 
whole continent to the shores of the Pacific and along the 
coast as far as California. They are migratory north of 
Maryland, but pass the winter and summer in great 
numbers in all the southern states, frequenting chiefly the 
settlements and rice and corn-fields, towards the sea-coast, 
where they move about like blackening clouds, rising 


180 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


suddenly at times with a noise like thunder, and exhibiting 
amidst the broad shadows of their funereal plumage, the 
bright flashing of the vermilion with which their wings are 
so singularly decorated. After whirling and waving a 
little distance, like the Starling, they descend as a torrent, 
and darkening the branches of the trees by their numbers, 
they commence a general concert that may be heard for 
more than two miles. ‘This music seems to be something 
betwixt chattering and warbling; jingling liquid notes like 
those of the Bobolink with their peculiar kong-quér-reé 
and bob a le, o-bob a leé; then complaining chirps, jars, 
and sounds like saw-filing, or the motion of a sign-board 
on its rusty hinge, the whole constituting a novel and some- 
times grand chorus of discord and harmony, in which the 
performers seem in good earnest, and bristle up their 
feathers, as if inclined, at least, to make up in quantity 
what their show of music may Jack in quality. 

When their food begins to fail in the fields, they assem- 
ble with the Purple Grakles, very familiarly around the 
corn-cribs and in the barn-yards, greedily and dexterously 
gleaning up every thing within their reach. In the month 
of March, Mr. Bullock found them very numerous and 
bold near the city of Mexico, where they followed the 
mules to steal a tithe of their barley. 

From the beginning of March to April, according to the 
nature of the season, they begin to visit the Northern 
States in scattered parties, flying chiefly in the morning. 
As they wing their way they seem to relieve their mutual 
toil by friendly chatter, and being the harbingers of spring, 
their faults are forgot in the instant, and we cannot help 
greeting them as old acquaintances in spite of their preda- 
tory propensities. Selecting their accustomed resort, they 
make the low meadows resound again with their notes, par- 
ticularly in the morning and evening before retiring to or 


RED-WINGED BLACK-BIRD. 181 


leaving the roost; previous to settling themselves for the 
night, and before parting in the day, they seem all to join in 
a general chorus of liquid warbling tones; which would be 
very agreeable but for the interruption of the plaints and 
jarring sounds with which it is blended. They continue to 
feed in small parties in swamps and by slow streams and 
ponds till the middle or close of April, when they begin to 
separate in pairs. Sometimes, however, they appear to be 
partly polygamous, like their cousins the Cow Troopials, 
as amidst a number of females engaged in incubation, but 
few of the other sex appear associated with them; and as 
among the Bobolinks, sometimes two or three of the males 
may be seen in chase of an individual of the other sex, 
but without making any contest or show of jealous feud 
with each other, as a concubinage rather than any regular 
mating seems to prevail among the species. 

Assembled again in their native marshes, the male 
perched upon the summit of some bush surrounded by 
water, in company with his mates, now sings out, at short 
intervals, his guttural kong-quér-ree, sharply calls @tshéah, 
or, when disturbed, plaintively utters ’ttshdy; to which 
his companions, not insensible to these odd attentions, 
now and then return a gratulatory cackle or reiterated 
chirp, like that of the native Meadow Lark. As a pleas- 
ant and novel, though not unusual accompaniment, per- 
haps the great Bull Frog elevates his green head and brassy 
eyes from the stagnant pool, and calls out in a loud and 
echoing bellow, ’w’rroo, ’warroo, ’worrdrroo, *boaroo, 
which is again answered, or, as it were, merely varied, by 
the creaking or cackling voice of his feathered neighbors. 
This curious concert, uttered as it were from the still and 
sable waters of the Styx, is at once both ludicrous and 
solemn. 

About the end of April or early in May, in the middle 

16 


182 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


and northern parts of the union the Red-Winged Black- 
birds commence constructing their nests. The situation 
made choice of is generally in some marsh, swamp, or wet 
meadow, abounding with alder (Alnus) or Button-bushes 
(Cephalanthus) ; in these, commonly at the height of 5 to 
7 feet from the ground, or sometimes in a detached bush 
or tussock of rank grass in the meadow, the nest is formed. 
Outwardly it is composed of a considerable quantity of 
the long dry leaves of Sedge-grass (Carex), or other kinds 
collected in wet situations, and occasionally the slender 
leaves of the flag (/ris) carried round all the adjoining 
twigs of the bush by way of support or suspension, and 
sometimes blended with strips of the lint of the swamp 
Asclepias or silk weed (Asclepias incarnata.) 'The whole 
of this exterior structure is also twisted in and out, and 
carried in loops from one side of the nest to the other, 
pretty much in the manner of the Orioles, but made of less 
flexible and handsome materials. ‘The large interstices 
that remain, as well as the bottom, are then filled in with 
rotten wood, marsh-grass roots, fibrous peat, or mud, so as 
to form, when dry, a stout and substantial, though con- 
cealed shell, the whole very well lined with fine dry stalks 
of grass or with slender rushes, (Sc?rpi.) When the nest 
is in a tussock, it is also tied to the adjoining stalks of 
herbage ;* but when on the ground this precaution of 
fixity is laid aside. The eggs are from 3 to 5, white, ting- 
ed with blue, marked with faint streaks of light purple, and 
long straggling serpentine lines and dashes of very dark 
brown; the markings not very numerous, and disposed 
almost wholly at the greater end. ‘They raise two broods 
commonly in the season. If the nest is approached while 


*This description, drawn from nature, agrees very nearly with that given by 
Pennant, Arctic Zool. vol. i. p. 300. 


RED-WINGED BLACK-BIRD. 183 


the female is sitting, or when the young are hatched, loud 
cries of alarm are made by both parties, but more partic- 
ularly by the restless male, who flies to meet the intru- 
der, and generally brings together the whole sympathizing 
company o! his fellows, whose nests sometimes are within 
a few yards of each other. The female cries ’quedh, 
*puecdh, and at length, when the mischief they dreaded is 
accomplished, the louder notes give way to others which 
are more still, slow and mournful; one of which resem- 
bles ?’at, t’at, or téa and t’tshedh. When the young are 
taken or destroyed, the pair continue restless and dejected 
for several days, but from the force of their gregarious 
habit they again commence building, usually soon after, 
in the same meadow or swamp with their neighbors. In 
the latter part of July and August the young birds, now 
resembling the female, begin to fly in flocks, and release 
themselves partly from dependence on their parents, whose 
cares up to this time are faithful and unremitting; a few 
males only seem inclined to stay and direct their motions. 

About the beginning of September, these flocks, by their 
formidable numbers, do great damage to the unripe corn, 
which is now a favorite repast, and they are sometimes 
seen whirling and driving over the devoted cornfields and 
meadows so as to darken the air with their numbers. ‘The 
destruction at this time made among them by the gun 
and the Hawks produces but little effect upon the remain- 
der, who continue fearlessly, and in spite of all opposition, 
from morning to night, to ravage the cornfields while any 
thing almost remains to be eaten. The farms near the 
sea-coast, or alluvial situations, however, are their favorite 
haunts; and towards the close of September, the corn be- 
coming hard, it is at length rejected for the seeds of the 
wild rice (Zizania aquatica), and other aquatic plants, 
which now begin to ripen, and afford a more harmless and 


184 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


cheap repast to these dauntless marauders. At this time, 
also, they begin to roost in the reeds, whither they repair 
in large flocks every evening from all the neighboring 
quarters of the country ; upon these they perch or cling so 
as to obtain a support above the surrounding waters of the 
marsh. When the reeds become dry, advantage is taken 
of the circumstance to destroy these unfortunate gorman- 
dizers by fire; and those who might escape the flames are 
shot down in vast numbers as they hover and scream around 
the spreading conflagration. Early in November, they 
generally leave the northern and colder states; with the 
exception of straggling parties, who still continue to glean 
subsistence, in the shelter of the sea-coast, in Delaware, 
Maryland, and even in the cold climate of the state of Mas- 
sachusetts.* 

To those who seem inclined to extirpate these erratic 
depredators, Wilson justly remarks, as a balance against 
the damage they commit, the service they perform in the 
spring season, by the immense number of insects and their 
larve which they destroy, as their principal food, and 
which are of kinds most injurious to the husbandman. 
Indeed Kalm remarked, that after a great destruction made 
among these and the common Black-birds for the legal re- 
ward of 3 pence a dozen, the Northern States, in 1749, 
experienced a complete loss of the grass and grain crops, 
which were now devoured by insects. 

Like the Troopial (Oriolus icterus, Laru.) the Red- 
wing shows attachment and docility in confinement, be- 
coming, like the Starling, familiar with those who feed 
him, and repaying the attention he receives, by singing his 
monotonous ditty pretty freely, consisting, as we have 


* My friend, Mr. S. Green, uf Boston, assures me, that he has seen these birds 
near Newton, in a Cedar Swamp, in January. 


RED-WINGED BLACK-BIRD. 185 


already remarked, of various odd, grating, shrill, guttural, 
and sometimes warbling tones, which become at length 
somewhat agreeable to the ear ; and instances are said to 
have occurred of their acquiring the power of articulating 
several words pretty distinctly. 

The flesh of this bird is but little esteemed except when 
young, being dark and tough like that of the Starling ; 
yet in some of the markets of the United States they are 
at times exposed for sale. . 


The male is from 84 to 10 inches in length: of a glossy black, with 
the exception of the lesser wing-coverts, in which the lower rows of 
feathers are of a reddish cream-color, the rest of a bright scarlet. 
Legs and bill black. Irids hazel. Tongue slender, and torn at the 
end. 

The female is from 8 to9 inches long. Throat and below thickly 
streaked with black and whitish, or cream color; under the throat 
sometimes pale reddish. Above black, the feathers edged with pale 
brown, white, or bay. Young male, black, the shoulder of the wing 
the color of red lead, fading at the edges into buff yellow. Above, 
with the feathers edged with brownish ferruginous and brownish 
white, except the rump, in which the feathers are faintly edged with 
cinereous; over the eye-brows a pale line. Beneath, from the chin 
downwards, black, the feathers edged with greyish white. 

Note. The size and markings of this bird vary in an extraordi- 
nary degree. The old malesare sometimes only 84 inches in length, 
the largest 10. The females likewise vary from 8 to 9 inches. In 
the young female also the feathers are edged with ferruginous and 
whitish, and beneath and around the base of the bill nearly yellow. 
Other females have the edges of the feathers as described above. 
Some have the shoulder of the wing almost as red as in the male, 
but the same feathers spotted with dusky. As females of the same 
age, apparently, are without this mark, I suppose it to be accidental. 
Taking into consideration, then, the extreme differences in the size 
of either sex, the supposed disparity of the pair vanishes. This oc- 
casional diminution of size is probably, as in other birds, peculiar to 
the latest broods. 


16* 


ISG OMNIVOROUS BIRDS, 


THREE COLORED TROOPIAL. 
(I-terus tricolor, Nogis. Aupvs. pl. 388. fig. 1.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Black; tail even; lesser wing-coverts deep car- 
mine, edged posteriorly with pure white. — Female, - - - -? 


Frocks of this vagrant bird, which, in all probability, 
extends its migrations into Oregon and Mexico, are very 
common around Santa Barbara and Monterey in upper 
California, in the month of April. Their habits are sim- 
ilar to those of the common Red Winged Troopial, but 
they mostly keep in large flocks apart from that species, 
which also inhabits this country as well as Mexico. They 
are, at this time, seldom seen but in the near suburbs of 
the town, feeding almost exclusively on the maggots or 
larve of the flesh-flies generated in the offal of the cattle 
killed around the town for the sake of the hides. In large 
whirling flocks they are seen associated with the Cow 
Birds, Common Grakles, Red Winged Troopials, and a 
small black species with an orange yellow head,* all flit- 
ting about in quest of food, or perching on the olives and 
orchard trees in the town, where they keep up an inces- 
sant chatter and discordant confused warble, much more 
harsh or guttural even than the note of the Cow Bird. 
With the female, and the circumstances of breeding, I am 
unacquainted. 


Length 9 inches ; wing from the flexure 5 inches. Biull more slen- 
der than in the Red Winged Troopial, with the ridge at its base rather 
elevated and convex. Red on the wing deep carmine, edged behind 
with pure white. 


* For this species, apparently new, I propose the name of Agelaius or Icterus 
*calacephalus. It is black, about the size of the Cow Bird, with the head, neck, 
and throat, of a bright orange. 


YELLOW-HEADED TROOPIAL. 187 


TWO COLORED TROOPIAL. 


(Icterus gubernator, Avp. pl. 420. fig. and 2. Agelaius gubernator, 
Bonap. p. 29. Psarocolius gubernator, WAGLER.) 


Spec. Cuyaract. — Black ; feathers on the head and neck erect vel- 
vety ; patch on the wing pure scarlet, the feathers white at their base. 


Specimens of this bird common also to Mexico, were ob- 
tained in Oregon by my friend Mr. T. K. Townsend. In 
the course of the winter they probably migrate into Mexico. 


Length 9 inches; wing from the flexure about 54. Glossy bluish- 
black, on the head velvet black. Feathers on the fore and upper 
parts of the head standing erect, so as to present a velvety surface. 


YELLOW-HEADED TROOPIAL. 


(Icterus icterocephalus, Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 26. pl. 4. [male]. fig. 2. 
[female]. Aun. pl. 388. fig. 2.3. Philad. Museum, No. 1528, 
1529. Angelaius Xanthocephalus, Bonar. p. 29.) 


Spec. Cuaracr.—Black; head, neck, and breast yellow-orange ; 
with a white spot on the wing. — Female and young dark brown; 
wings without spots ; throat whitish ; also a rounded yellow patch 
on the breast. 


Tue Yellow-headed Troopial, though long known as an 
inhabitant of South America, was only recently added to 
the Fauna of the United States by Major Long’s expedi- 
tion. ‘They were seen in great numbers near the banks of 
the River Platte, around the villages of the Pawnees, 
about the middle of May; and the different sexes were 
sometimes observed associated in separate flocks, as the 
breeding season had not yet probably commenced. The 
range of this fine species is, apparently, from Cayenne, in 
tropical America, to the banks of the river Missouri, 
where Mr. Townsend and myself observed them not far 
from the settled line of Missouri State. They have been 


188 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


seen by Dr. Richardson, in summer, as far as the 58th 
parallel. Its visits in the United States are yet wholly 
confined to the west side of the Mississippi, beyond which, 
not even astraggler has been seen. ‘They assemble in 
dense flocks, and in all their movements, aérial evolutions, 
and predatory character, appear as the counterpart of their 
Red-winged relatives. They are also seen to frequent the 
ground in search of food, in the manner of the Cow- 
Bunting, or Troopial. In the spring season they wage 
war upon the insect tribes and their larve, like the Red- 
wings, but in autumn they principally depend on the seeds 
of vegetables. At Demerara, Waterton observed them in 
flocks, and, as might have been suspected from their habits, 
they were very greedy after Indian corn. 

On the 2d of May, in our western tour across the conti- 
nent, around the Kansa Indian Agency, we now saw 
abundance of the Yellow-headed Troopial, associated with 
the Cow-Bird. They kept wholly on the ground in com- 
panies, the males, at this time, by themselves. In loose 
soil they dig into the earth with their bills in quest of in- 
sects and larve, are very active, straddle about with a 
quaint gait, and now and then, in the manner of the Cow 
Bird, whistle out with great effort, a chuckling note sound- 
ing like ko-kukkle-’ait, often varying into a straining squeak, 
as if using their utmost endeavor to make some kind of 
noise in token of sociability. Their music, is however, 
even inferior to the harsh note of the Cow Bird. In the 
month of June, by the edge of a grassy marsh, in the open 
plain of the Platte, several hundred miles inland, Mr. 
Townsend found the nest of this species built under a 
tussock, formed of fine grasses and canopied over like that 
of the Sturnella or Meadow Lark. The eggs, about 4, 
are of a bluish-white, covered all over with minute specks 
of brownish-purple, largest and most numerous at the 
greater end. 


YELLOW-HEADED TROOPIAL. 189 


The male of this species is 103 inches in length (according to 
Prince Bonaparte, but the figure purporting to be the size of life is 
only 94.) The bill dark horn-color. Feet black. The irids dark 
brown. The head, neck, and breast are brilliant orange-yellow, more 
vivid and silky on the head. The feathers round the base of the bill, 
chin, and a wide stripe passing through the eye, are black. The rest 
of the feathers glossy black, tinged with brownish. Some of the 
exterior wing-coverts are white with black tips, constituting 2 white 
spots on the wing. The Ist, 2d, and 3d primaries are longest and 
equal. Tail 4 inches long, slightly rounded. — The female 84 inches 
long (in the figure about the same size as the male, 94), dark brown, 
the margin of the feathers a shade lighter. The chin and throat 
whitish. On the breast a large round patch of yellow. On the lower 
part of the breast the feathers are skirted with white.—The young 
are very similar to the female. 


Species related to the Bunting. (Emprrizorss.) 


In these the bill is straight, short, thick, conic, and not much point- 
ed. The sinus at the base of the bill sharp and shallow. 

Nore. These are somewhat allied to the Finches; yet still more 
so to the birds of the preceding section. 


COW TROOPIAL, or COW BLACK-BIRD. 


(Icterus pecoris, Temm. Aupugon, pl. 99. Emberiza pecoris, Wi1Lson, 2. 
p. 145. pl. 18. fig. 1. [male]. fig. 2. [female]. fig. 3. [the young]. 
Philad. Museum, No. 6378, 6379. Fringilla pecoris, Gmet. Molo- 
thrus pecoris, Swans. Bonap. p. 29.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Glossy beak head and neck blackish-brown. — 
Female wholly sooty-brown, beneath pale.— Young similar to the 
female, with the breast spotted. 


Tue Cow-pen Bird, perpetually gregarious and flitting, 
is observed to enter the Middle and Northern States in the 
latter end of March or the beginning of April. They 
make their migration now chiefly under cover of the night, 
or early dawn; and as the season becomes milder they 
pass on to Canada, and perhaps follow the Warblers and 
other small birds into the farthest regions of the north, for 
they are seen no more after the middle of June, until the 
return of autumn, when, with the colds of October, they 
again reappear in numerous and augmented flocks, usually 
associated with their kindred Red-wings, to whom they 
bear a sensible likeness, as well as a similarity in notes and 


COW TROOPIAL, OR COW BLACK-BIRD. 191 


manners. They pass the winter in the warmer parts of 
America as well as inthe Southern States, where I have 
observed them in the ploughed fields, gleaning along with 
the Red-wings and the common Black-birds. They are 
also very familiar around the cattle, picking up insects 
which they happen to disturb, or that exist in their ordure. 
When on the ground, they scratch up the soil and appear 
very intent after their food. Sometimes even, infringing 
on the rights of the Plover, individuals, in the winter, fre- 
quent the margins of ponds in quest of aquatic insects and 
small shell-fish ; and they may be seen industriously occu- 
pied in turning over the leaves of the water-plants to which 
they adhere. They also frequent occasionally the rice 
and corn fields, as well as their more notorious associates, 
but are more inclined to native food and insects at all 
times, so that they are more independent and less injurious 
to the farmer. As they exist in Mexico, and California, it 
is probable, that they are also bred in the higher table 
lands, as well as in the regions of the north. In Louisia- 
na, however, according to Audubon, they are rare visitors 
at any season, seeming more inclined to follow their route 
through the maritime districts. Over these countries, high 
in the air, in the month of October, they are seen by day 
winging their way to the remoter regions of the south. 
We have observed that the Red-wings separate in par- 
ties, and pass a considerable part of the summer in the 
necessary duties of incubation. But the Cow-pen Birds 
release themselves from all hindrance to their wanderings. 
The volatile disposition and instinct, which prompt birds 
to migrate, as the seasons change and as their food begins 
to fail, have only a periodical influence; and for a while 
they remain domestic, passing a portion of their time in the 
cares and enjoyments of the conjugal state. But with our 
bird, like the European Cuckoo, this season never arrives; 


192 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the flocks live together without ever pairing. A general 
concubinage prevails among them, scarcely exciting any 
jealousy, and unaccompanied by any durable affection, 
From the commencement of their race, they have been 
bred as foundlings, in the nests of other birds, and fed by 
foster-parents, under the perpetual influence of delusion 
and deception, and by the sacrifice of the concurrent pro- 
geny of the nursing birds! Amongst all the feathered 
tribes hitherto known, this and the European Cuckoo, 
with a few other species indigenous to the old continent, 
are the only kinds who never make a nest or hatch their 
young. That this character is not a vice of habit, but a 
perpetual instinct of nature, appears from various circum- 
stances, and from none more evidently than from this, that 
the eggs of the Cow Troopial are earlier hatched than 
those of the foster-parent, a singular and critical provision, 
on which perhaps the existence of the species depends. 
For did the natural brood of the deceived parent come 
first into existence, the strange egg on which they sat, 
would generally be destroyed. 

The number of nurses selected by this vagrant is some- 
what considerable. The greatest favorite appears to be 
the Red-cyed Fly-catcher, the White-eyed species, and the 
Maryland Yellow-throat; but the Blue-bird, Indigo-bird, 
Chipping-Sparrow, Song-Sparrow, Summer Yellow-bird 
Blue-grey Fly-catcher, Golden-crowned and  Witlson’s 
Thrush, as well as the common Pewit are also at times 
enlisted in the number of foster parents for the black and 
greedy brood of our Cow-bird. When the female is dis- 
posed to lay, she appears restless and dejected, and sepa- 
rates from the unregarding flock. Stealing through the 
woods and thickets, she pries into the bushes and bram- 
bles for the nest that suits her, into which she darts, in the 
absence of its owner, and in a few minutes is seen to rise 


COW TROOPIAL, OR COW BLACK-BIRD. 193 


on the wing, cheerful and relieved from the anxiety that 
oppressed her, and proceeds back to the flock, she had so 
reluctantly forsaken. If the egg be deposited in the nest 
alone, it is uniformly forsaken ; but if the nursing parent 
have any of her own, she immediately begins to sit. The 
Red-eyed Fly-catcher, in whose beautiful basket-like nests 
I have observed these eggs, proves a very affectionate and 
assiduous nurse to the uncouth foundling. In one of 
these I found an egg of each bird, and the hen already 
sitting.* I took her own egg and left the strange one ; 
she soon returned, and, as if sensible of what had happen- 
ed, looked with steadfast attention, and shifted the egg 
about, then sat upon it, but soon moved off, again renewed 
her observation, and it was a considerable time before she 
seemed willing to take her seat; but at length [left her on 
the nest. Two or three days after, I found that she had 
relinquished her attention to the strange egg, and forsaken 
the nest. Another of these birds, however, forsook the 
nest on taking out the Cow-bird’s egg, although she had 
still 2 of her own left. The only example, perhaps, to the 
contrary of deserting the nest when solely occupied by the 
stray egg, is in the Blue-bird, who, attached strongly to 
the breeding places, in which it often continues for several 
years, has been known to lay, though with apparent re- 
luctance, after the deposition of the Cow-bird’s egg. My 
friend, Mr. C. Pickering, found two nests of the Summer 
Yellow Bird, in which had been deposited an egg of the 
Cow-bird previously to any of their own; and unable to 
eject it, they had buried it in the bottom of the nest and 
built over it an additional story! I also saw, in the sum- 
mer of 1830, a similar circumstance with the same bird, 


in which the Cow-bird’s egg, though incarcerated, was 


* T observed, in 1831, the hen sitting on 2 eggs, and one of the Cow-bird. 


17 


194 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


still visible on the upper edge, but could never have been 
hatched. At times, I think it probable, that they lay in 
the nests of larger birds, who throw out the egg, or that 
they drop their eggs on the ground without obtaining a 
deposit, as I have found an egg of this kind thus exposed 
and broken. On placing an egg of this bird in the Cat- 
Bird’s nest it was almost instantly ejected ; and this would 
probably be the usual fate of the strange egg, if the dimin- 
utive nurses, thus wisely chosen, were capable of removing 
it. Wilson’s Thrush, however, as large as the Cow-Bird 
itself, sits quietly on the strange deposit, as if incapable 
of or unwilling to distinguish it from her own. I have 
remarked sometimes 2 of these eggs in the same nest, but 
in this case one of them commonly proves abortive. 

The most usual nurse of this bird appears to be the 
Red-eyed Vireo, who commences sitting as soon as the 
Cow-bird’s egg is deposited. On these occasions, I 
have known the Vireo to begin her incubation with only 
an egg of each kind, and in other nests I have observed 
as many as 3 of her own, with that of the intruder. From 
the largeness of the strange egg, probably the nest im- 
mediately feels filled, so as to induce the nurse directly to 
sit. This larger egg, brought nearer to the body than 
her own, is consequently better warmed and _ sooner 
hatched; and the young of the Cow-bird, I believe, ap- 
pears about the 12th or 13th day of sitting. The found- 
ling is very faithfully nursed by the affectionate Vireo, 
along with her own brood, who make their appearance 
about a day later than the Troopial. From the great size 
of the parasite, the legitimate young are soon stifled, and, 
when dead, are conveyed, as usual, by the duped parent to 
a distance before being dropped ; but they are never found 
immediately beneath the nest, as would invariably happen 
if they were ejected by the young Troopial. In the sum- 


COW TROOPIAL, OR COW BLACK-BIRD. 195 


mer of 1839, I actually saw a Chipping Sparrow carrying 
out to a distance one of its dead young thus stifled; and a 
second nest of the same species in which 38 of its own 
brood were hatched soon after the Cow Troopial; these 
survived 2 or 3 days, and as they perished were carried 
away by the parent bird. As far as I have had opportunity 
of observing, the foundling shows no hostility to the natu- 
ral brood of his nurses, but he nearly absorbs their whole 
attention, and early displays his characteristic cunning and 
self-possession. When fully fledged, they quickly desert 
their foster-parent, and skulk about in the woods until, at 
length, they instinctively join company with those of the 
same feather, and now becoming more bold, are seen in 
parties of 5 or 6, in the fields and lanes, gleaning their 
accustomed subsistence. They still, however, appear shy 
and watchful, and seem too selfish to study any thing more 
than their own security and advantage, 

The egg of this bird is almost oval, scarcely larger than 
that of the Blue-bird, thickly sprinkled with points and 
confluent touches of olive brown, of two shades, somewhat 
more numerous at the greater end, on a white ground 
tinged with green. But in some of these eggs the ground 
is almost pure white, and the spots nearly black. 

The song of the Cow-bird is guttural and unmusical, 
uttered with an air of affectation, and accompanied by a 
bristling of the feathers and a swelling of the body in the 
manner of the Turkey. ‘These are also all the notes of 
the species in the season of their attachment; so that their 
musical talent rates lower than that of any other bird per- 
haps in the genus. Sometimes the tones of the male re- 
semble the liquid clinking of the Bobolink and Red-winged 
Black-bird. Sitting on the summit of a lofty branch, he 
amuses himself perhaps for an hour with an occasional 
’kluck ’tseé, the latter syllable uttered in a drawling hiss 


196 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


like that of the Red-wing. Accompanied by his mates, he 
also endeavors to amuse them by his complaisant chatter ; 
and watching attentively for their safety, they flit together 
at the instant he utters the loud tone of alarm; and they 
are always shy and suspicious of the designs of every ob- 
server. On a fine spring morning, however, perched 
towards the summit of some tree in the forest, where they 
seek rest after their twilight wanderings, small and select 
parties may be seen gratefully basking in the mild beams 
of the sunshine. ‘The male on such occasions, seems as 
proud of his uncouth jargon, and as eager to please his 
favorite companions, as the tuneful Nightingale with his 
pathetic and varied lay. 


The length of this species is 7 inches, its breadth 11. The head 
and neck blackish brown; the rest black, glossed with violet on the 
breast, and with greenish above, Legs and claws black. Iris hazel. 


DOLICHONYX. (Swarns.) RICE BIRDS. 


Wir the bill thick, pointed, and strong, the margins 
* smooth and somewhat inflated, the upper mandible slightly 
ridged at the base; the palate with a tubercle. — Wings 
rather long: tarsus robust. Tail rounded, graduated, with 
: ». the feathers rounded or acuminated. 

——~——"'These are lively and agreeable songsters, inhabiting 
meadows and plains, in society; nesting on the ground; 
with the plumage of the sexes very distinct in color. Af- 
ter breeding, the young and old become gregarious and 
frequent,marshes and reed fens, being all now nearly in the 
same UAaé@/ In their habits, and voluble song they pre- 

7 sent a a Ffiat transition from the Jcterz to the Fringiilas, 
4 


‘UY i ate) 0 Vu 


EE ZZ 
7 = ~ eT 


RICE BIRD, or BOB-O-LINK. 


(Dolichonyx oryzivorus, Swainson. Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 29. Aupu- 
Bon, pl. 54. Icterus agripennis, Bonar. Emberiza oryzivora, WiL- 
SON, ii. p. 48. pl. 12. fig. 1. [male in spring dress,] fig. 2. [female.] 
Philad. Museum, No. 6026.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Tail feathers very acute. — Adult male in spring 
dress, black; the hind head yellowish white ; scapulars, rump, 
and tail coverts, white, tinged with ash. — Female, young, and male, 
in early autumn and winter dress, varied with brownish black and 
brownish yellow ; beneath dull yellow. The male with much more 
yellow. 


Tue whole continent of America, from Labrador to 
Mexico, and the great Antilles, are the occasional resi- 
dence of this truly migratory species. About the middle 
of March, or beginning of April, the cheerful Bob-6-link 
makes his appearance in the southern extremity of the 
United States, becoming gradually arrayed in his nuptial 

LY iy 


195 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


livery, and accompanied by troops of his companions, who 
often precede the arrival of their more tardy mates.* Ac- 
cording to Richardson it is the beginning of June when 
they arrive at their farthest boreal station in the 54th de- 
gree. We observed them in the great western plains to 
the base of the Rocky Mountains, but not in Oregon. 
Their wintering resort appears to be rather the West In- 
dies than the tropical continent, as their migrations are 
observed to take place generally to the east of Louisiana, 
where their visits are rare and irregular.t At this season 
also they make their approaches chiefly by night, obeying, 
as it were, more distinctly, the mandates of an overruling 
instinct, which prompts them to seek out their natal re- 
gions; while in autumn, their progress, by day only, is 
alone instigated by the natural quest of food. About the 
Ist of May the meadows of Massachusetts begin to reecho 
their lively ditty. At this season, in wet places, and by 
newly ploughed fields, they destroy many insects and their 
larve. According to their success in obtaining food, par- 
ties often delay their final northern movement as late as 
the middle of May, so that they appear to be in no haste 
to arrive at their destination at any exact period. The 
principal business of their lives however, the rearing of 
their young, does not take place until they have left the 
parallel of the 49th degree. In the savannahs of Ohio 
and Michigan, and the cool grassy meadows of New York, 
Canada, and New England, they fix their abode, and ob- 
tain a sufficiency of food throughout the summer, without 
molesting the harvest of the farmer, until the ripening of 
the latest crops of oats and barley, when, in their autum- 
nal and changed dress, hardly now known as the same 


* Bartram’s Travels, p. 295. (Ed. London.) 
¢ Audubon, Ornithological Piegraphy, i. p. 283. 


RICE BIRD, OR BOB-O-LINK. 199 


species, they sometimes show their taste for plunder, and 
flock together like the greedy and predatory Black-birds. 
Although they devour various kinds of insects and worms 
on their first arrival, l have found that their frequent visits 
among the grassy meadows were often also for the seeds 
they contain ; and they are particularly fond of those of 
the Dock and Dandelion, the latter of which is sweet and 
oily. Later in the season, and previously to leaving their 
native regions, they feed principally on various kinds of 
grass seeds, particularly those of the Panicums, which are 
allied to millet. ‘They also devour crickets and grasshop- 
pers, as well as beetles and spiders. Their nest is fixed on 
the ground in a slight depression, usually in a field of 
meadow grass, either in a dry or moist situation, and con- 
sists merely of a loose bedding of withered grass, so inar- 
tificial as scarcely to be distinguishable from the rest of 
the ground around it. The eggs are 5 or 6, of a dull 
white, inclining to olive, scattered all over with small spots 
and touches of lilac brown, with some irregular blotches 
of dark rufous brown, chiefly disposed towards the larger 
end. 

The males, arriving a little earlier than the other sex, 
now appear very vigorous, lively, and familiar. Many 
quarrels occur before the mating is settled; and the fe- 
males seem at first very coy and retiring. Emulation fires 
the Bob-o-link at this period, and rival songsters pour out 
their incessant strains of enlivening music from every fence 
and orchard tree. The quiet females keep much on the 
ground, but as soon as they appear, they are pursued by 
the ardent candidates for their affection, and if either seems 
to be favored, the rejected suitor is chased off the ground, 
as soon as he appears, by his more fortunate rival. The 
song of the male continues with little interruption as long 
as the female is sitting, and his chant, at all times very 


f : 
200 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. pen 


similar, is both singular and pleasant, ¢ Often, like the Sky- 
lark, mounted, and cea on the wing, at a small height 
above the field, x he pass EE fons from one tree-top or 
weed to another, ‘utters such a jingling medley of short 
variable notes, so confused, rapid, and continuous, that it 
appears almost like the blending song of several different 


cheerful, thopgh mondtonous, and \somewhat \quaint. 
Among the few phrases that can be distinguished, the 
hed sound of bob-d-lee, bob-o-link, bob-o-linké, is very 
distinct, To give an idea of the variable extent of song, 

icy -——antéven an imitation, in some measure, of the chromatic 
ppl period and air of this familiar and rather favorite resident, 
p20 Abe boys of this part of New England make him spout 
among others, the following ludicrous dunning phrase, as 

he rises and hovers on the wing near his mate, ‘‘ ’Bob-o- 
link, ’Bob-6-link,’ Tom Dénny ’ Tom Dénny. —’ Come pay 

me the two and six pence you've owed more than a year 

and a half ago! —’tshé ’tshé ’tshé,’tsh ’tsh ’tshé,’ mo- 
destly diving at the same instant down into the grass as if 

to avoid altercation. However puerile this odd phrase 
may appear, it is quite amusing to find how near it ap- 
proaches to the time, and expression of the notes, when 
pronounced ina hurried manner. It would be unwise in 

the naturalist to hold in contempt any thing, however tri- 
fling, which might tend to elucidate the simple truth of 
nature. {therefore give the thing as I find it. This relish 

for song and merriment, confined wholly to the male, di- 
minishes as the period of incubation advances, and when 

the brood begin to flutter around their parents and protec- 


RICE BIRD, OR BOB-O-LINK. 201 


tors, the song becomes less frequent, the cares of the 
parents more urgent, and any approach to the secret recess 
of their helpless family is deplored with urgent and inces- 
sant cries, as they hover fearfully around the intentional or 
accidental intruder. ‘They appear sometimes inclined to 
have a second brood, for which preparation is made while 
they are yet engaged in rearing the first; but the male gen- 
erally loses his musical talent about the end of the first 
week in July; from which time, his nuptial or pied dress 
begins gradually to be laid aside for the humble garb of the 
female. The whole, both young and old, then appear nearly 
in the same songless livery, uttering only a chink of alarm 
when surprised in feeding on the grass seeds, or the crops 
of grain which still remain abroad. When the voice of 
the Bob-o-link begins to fail, with the progress of the ex- 
hausting moult, he flits over the fields in a restless manner, 
and merely utters a broken ’bob’lee, ’bob’lee, or with his 
songless mate, at length, a ’weet weet, b’leet b’leet, and a 
noisy and disagreeable cackling chirp. At the early dawn 
of day, while the tuneful talent of the species is yet una- 
bated, the effect of their awakening and faultering voices 
from a wide expanse of meadows, is singular and grand. 
The sounds mingle like the noise of a distant torrent, 
which alternately subsides and rises on the breeze, as the 
performers awake or relapse into rest; it finally becomes 
more distinct and tumultuous, till with the opening day it 
assumes the intelligible character of their ordinary song. 
The young males, towards the close of July, having nearly 
acquired their perfect character, utter also in the morning, 
from the trees which border their favorite marshy meadows, 
a very agreeable and continuous low warble, more like 
that of the Yellow-Bird* than the usual song of the spe- 


* Fringilla tristis. 


At 


ates 


me 


202 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


cies; in fact, they appear now in every respect as Finches, 
and only become jingling musicians, when robed in their 
pied dress as Icteri. 

“About the middle of August, freongrepating nin Dens; 


“ , Vast foraging 
¥e5 enter New York and Mouwiee on their way to 


the south. Here, along the shores of the large rivers, 
lined with Le felds of the Wild Rice,* they find am 
abundant - during their short stay ; 
and as their flesh, now Pa is little inferior to that of the 
European Ortolan, the Reed or Rice Birds, as they are 
then called in their Sparrow-dress, form a favorite sport 
for gunners of all descriptions, who turn out on the occa- 


sion, and commit prodigious havock among the almost 
silent and greedy roosting throng. / The markets are then 


filled with this delicious game, ond the pursuit, both for 


success and amusement, along the picturesque and reedy 
shores of the Delaware, and other rivers, is second to none 
but that of Rail-shooting. As soon as the cool nights of 
October commence, and as the Wild Rice crops begin to 
fail, the Reed-birds take their departure from Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey, and in their further progress through the 
Southern States they swarm in the Rice fields, and before 
the crop is gathered they have already made their appear- 
ance in the islands of Cuba and Jamaica, where they also 
feed on the seeds of the Guinea grass,+ become so fat as to 
deserve the name of ‘Butter-birds,’ and are in high esteem 
for the table. 


The Rice-Bird is 74 inches long, and 114 in extent. The dress of 
the male, on arriving, is with the upper part of the head, wings, tail, 
sides of the neck, and whole lower parts, black; the feathers fre- 
quently skirted with brownish yellow, but more particularly so as he 


Seog eee eS Eee nae 


* Zizania species. t Sorghum. 


WESTERN OR PRAIRIE REED BIRDS. 203 


puts on the livery of the female; the back of the head yellowish 
white ; scapulars, rump, and tail coverts white, and all except the 
first tinged with ash. Feathers of the tail sharp at the end, (as among 
the Woodpeckers.) Iris hazel. Bill bluish-black; in the female, 
young bird, and autumnal male, pale flesh-color. 


WESTERN or PRAIRIE REED BIRD. 


(Dolichonyx bicolor, Noxwis. Fringilla bicolor, Prarie Finch, Town- 
sEND. Aup. pl. 390. [male and female.] Calamospiza bicolor, Bonar. 
p- 30.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Black, with a white patch on the wing, quills and 
tail feathers margined with white. — Female greyish-brown streaked 
with dusky, below white spotted with brownish-black, except the 
abdomen which is nearly spotless; tail feathers tipped with white 
on the inner web. 


In our western tour across the continent, on the 24th of 
May, soon after crossing the north branch of the Platte, 
we met with this interesting and very distinct species of 
Reed Bird. Like the preceding it is gregarious, and the 
males now associated in flocks with the Cow Birds, uttered 
a most delightful song. Towards evening, we sometimes 
saw them in all directions around us on the hilly grounds, 
rising at intervals to some height, hovering and flapping 
their wings, at the same time singing something like weet 
weet wt’ wt’ wt’, notes betwixt the hurried warble of the 
Bob-6-link, and the melody of the Sky-lark. It is in short 
one of the sweetest songsters of the prairie, is tame and 
unsuspicious, the whole employment of the little band 
being an ardent emulation of song. It feeds upon the 
ground, and may be seen as remarked by Mr. Townsend, 
in flocks of sixty to a hundred together. It exclusively in- 
habits the wide grassy plains of the Platte, as we did not 
see it to the west of the Black Hills or first range of the 
Rocky Mountains. 


204 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Length 7 inches. Wing from the flexure about 34 inches. Bill 
greyish-blue. Feet and claws reddish-brown. General color greyish- 
black ; a large patch of white on the wing including some of the 
smaller coverts, the tips of the first row, and the secondary coverts : 
primaries narrowly, and the inner secondaries broadly margined with 
white, with which most of them are also tipped. Middle tail feathers 
black. Some of the feathers on the abdomen and the lower tail 
coverts are also tipped with white.— Female smaller, quills dark 
brown, edged and tipped with reddish-white, with a patch on the 
wing of the same tint. Tail dark brown, the outer feathers exter- 
nally edged, and all tipped with white on the inner web. — Length 
63 inches. 


§ 2. Birds related to the Crow. (Coracgs.) 


In these the bill is cultrate, and the edges sharp. The outer toe is 
also free, and scarcely united at base to the middle one. 


QUISCALUS. (Viem1.) AMERICAN BLACKBIRDS. 


With the pitt bare, compressed from the base, and entire; the 
edges sharp, and somewhat bent inwards; the upper mandible carried 
back so as to form an acute angle on the forehead, curved from the 
middle, projecting considerably over the lower, and provided with a 
long keel within, Nosrrits oval, half closed by a membrane. The 
TONGUE cartilaginous, flattened, torn at the sides, and cleft at the 
point. The tarsus a little longer than the middle toe, the lateral 
toes nearly equal, with the inner free, and the outer united at base 
to the middle one. Wings moderate in length; the first primary 
equal to the 5th, and but little shorter than the 2d, 3d, and 4th, which 
are longest. The tail composed of 12 feathers, and more or less 
rounded. 

The male black; female generally brownish. The young differing 
from the adult. They moult annually, but by the wearing of the 
tips of the feathers, one species undergoes an additional change like 
the Starling. They are gregarious, retiring to warmer climates in 
winter ; usually build socially in trees, and lay about 5eggs. Their 
flesh is dark and not esteemed. 


GREAT CROW-BLACKBIRD. 205 


GREAT CROW-BLACKBIRD. 


(Quiscalus majer, ViriLL. Bonar. Am. Orn. vol. i. p. 35. pl. 4. fig. 1. 
[male.] fig. 2. [female.] Aun. pl. 187. Philad. Museum, No. 1582, 
1583.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Glossy-black ; tail wedge-shaped, reaching very 
far beyond the wings (nearly 5 inches); bony keel (of the upper 
mandible) small; length 16 inches. — Female light brown, beneath 
and eye-brows whitish ; length 124 inches. 


Tuts large and Crow-like species, sometimes called the 
Jackdaw, inhabits the southern maritime parts of the Union 
only, particularly the states of Georgia and Florida, where 
they are seen as early as the close of January or beginning 
of February, but do not begin to pair before March, pre- 
viously to which season the sexes are seen in separate 
flocks. But about the latter end of November, they quit 
even the mild climate of Florida, generally, and seek win- 
ter quarters probably in the West Indies, where they are 
known to be numerous, as well as in Mexico, Louisiana, 
and Texas; but they do not ever extend their northern 
migrations as far as the Middle States. Previous to their 
departure, at the approach of winter, they are seen to as- 
semble in large flocks, and every morning flights of them, 
at a great height, are seen moving away to the south. 

Like most gregarious birds, they are of a very sociable 
disposition, and are frequently observed to mingle with the 
common Crow-Blackbirds. They assemble in great num- 
bers among the sea islands, and neighboring marshes on 
the main land, where they feed at low water, on the oyster- 
beds and sand-flats. Like Crows, they are omnivorous, 
their food consisting of insects, small shell-fish, corn and 
small grain, so that by turns they may be viewed as the 
friend or plunderer of the planter. 


The note of this species is louder than that of the com- 
18 


206 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


mon kind, according to Audubon resembling a loud shrill 
whistle, often accompanied by a cry like erick crick cree, 
and in the breeding season changing almost into a warble. 
They are only heard to sing in the spring, and their con- 
cert, though inclining to sadness, is not altogether disa- 
greeable. Their nests are built in company, on reeds and 
bushes, in the neighborhood of salt marshes and ponds; 
they lay about 3 to 5 eggs which are whitish, blotched and 
lined nearly all over with dusky olive. ‘They begin to lay 
about the beginning of April: soon after which the males 
leave their mates not only with the care of incubation, but 
with the rearing of the young, moving about in separate 
flocks, like the Cow Birds, without taking any interest in 
the fate of their progeny. 


The general appearance of the male is black, but the head and 
neck have bluish-purple reflections; the rest presents shades of steel- 
blue, excepting the back, rump, and middling wing coverts which 
are glossed with copper green; the vent, inferior tail coverts, and 
thighs are plain black. The tail, wedge-shaped, is nearly 8 inches in 
length, and like that of the commen species, is capable of assuming 
a boat-shaped appearance. Iris pale yellow. The bill and feet black. 
The female is of a light dusky brown, with some feeble greenish re- 
flections, and beneath of a dull brownish white. The young, at first, 
resemble the female, but have the irids brown, and gradually acquire 
their appropriate plumage. 


COMMON CROW-BLACKBIRD. 


(Quiscalus versicolor, ViriLu. AupuBoN, pl. 7. [stealing corn, very 
spirited and natural] Bonar. Am. Orn. vol. ii. p. 42. pl. 5. fig. 1. 
[female.] Gracula quiscala, Lin. Witson, iii. p. 44. pl. 21. fig. 4. 
[male].) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Glossy-black; tail wedge-formed, extending far 
beyond the wings (nearly 3 inches); bony keel within the Dill 
large ; length about 114 inches; vertical breadth of the bill at base 
nearly half an inch. — Female similar to the male, but somewhat 
less brilliant: length 11 inches. 


Tuts very common bird is an occasional or constant 
resident in every part of America, from Hudson’s Bay 
and the northern interior to the great Antilles, within 
the tropic. In most parts of this wide region they also 
breed, at least from Nova Scotia to Louisiana, and proba- 
bly farther south. Into the states north of Virginia they 
begin to migrate from the beginning of March to May, 


208 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


leaving those countries again in numerous troops about 
the middle of November. ‘Thus assembled from the north 
and west in increasing numbers, they wholly overrun, at 
times, the warmer maritime regions, where they assemble 
to pass the winter in the company of their well known 
cousins the Red-winged Troopials or Blackbirds; for both 
impelled by the same predatory appetite, and love of com- 
fortable winter quarters, are often thus accidentally asso- 
ciated in the plundering and gleaning of the plantations. 
The amazing numbers in which the present species asso- 
ciate are almost incredible. Wilson relates that on the 
20th of January, a few miles from the banks of the Roan- 
oke in Virginia, he met with one of those prodigious 
armies of Blackbirds, which, as he approached, rose from 
the surrounding fields with a noise like thunder, and de- 
scending on the stretch of road before him, covered it and 
the fences completely with black ; rising again, after a few 
evolutions, they descended on the skirt of a leafless wood, 
so thick as to give the whole forest, for a considerable 
extent, the appearance of being shrouded in mourning, the 
numbers amounting probably to many hundreds of thou- 
sands. ‘Their notes and screams resembled the distant 
sound of a mighty cataract, but strangely attuned into a 
musical cadence, which rose and fell with the fluctuation 
of the breeze, like the magic harp of Aolus. 

Their depredations on the maize crop or Indian corn 
commence almost with the planting. The infant blades 
no sooner appear than they are hailed by the greedy Black- 
bird as the signal for a feast ; and, without hesitation, they 
descend on the fields, and regale themselves with the sweet 
and sprouted seed, rejecting and scattering the blades 
around as an evidence of their mischief and audacity. 
Again, about the beginning of August, while the grain is 
in the milky state, their attacks are renewed with the most 


COMMON CROW-BLACKBIRD. 209 


destructive effect, as they now assemble as it were in clouds, 
and pillage the fields to such a degree that in some low 
and sheltered situations, in the vicinity of rivers, where 
they delight to roam, one fourth of the crop is devoured 
by these vexatious visitors. The gun, also, notwithstand- 
ing the havoc it produces, has little more effect than to 
chase them from one part of the field to the o.her. In 
the Southern States, in winter, they hover round the corn- 
cribs in swarms, and boldly peck the hard grain from the 
cob through the air openings of the magazine. In conse- 
quence of these reiterated depredations they are detested 
by the farmer as a pest to his industry ; though, on their 
arrival their food for a long time consists wholly of those 
insects which are calculated to do the most essential injury 
to the crops. They, at this season, frequent swamps and 
meadows, and familiarly following the furrows of the plow, 
sweep up all the grub-worms, and other noxious animals, 
as soon as they appear, even scratching up the loose soil, 
that nothing of this kind may escape them. Up to the 
time of harvest, I have uniformly, on dissection, found 
their food to consist of these larve, caterpillars, moths, 
and beetles, of which they devour such numbers, that but 
for this providential economy, the whole crop of grain, in 
many places, would probably be destroyed by the time it 
began to germinate. In winter they collect the mast of 
the Beech and Oak for food, and may be seen assembled 
in large bodies in the woods for this purpose. In the 
spring season the Blackbirds roost in the cedars and pine 
trees, to which in the evening they retire with friendly an 

mutual chatter. On the tallest of these trees, as well as 
in bushes, they generally build their nests, which work, 
like all their movements, is commonly performed in society, 
so that 10 or 15 of them are often seen in the same tree, 


and sometimes they have been known to thrust their nests 
18* 


210 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


into the interstices of the Fish-Hawk’s eyry, as if for 
safety and protection. Occasionally they breed in tall 
poplars near to habitations, and if not molested, continue 
to resort to the same place for several years in succession. 
They begin their breeding operations from the commence- 
ment of April to May. The nest is composed outwardly 
of mud, mixed with stalks and knotty roots of grass, and 
lined with fine dry grass and horse-hair. The eggs, usu- 
ally 5 or 6, are of a dull green like those of the Crow, 
blotched and spotted with dark olive, more particularly 
towards the larger end. According to Audubon, the same 
species in the Southern States nests in the hollows of de- 
cayed trees, after the manner of the Woodpecker, lining 
the cavity with grass and mud. They seldom produce 
more than a single brood in the season. In the autumn, 
and at the approach of winter, numerous flocks af-er for- 
aging through the day, return from considerable distances 
to their general roosts among the reeds. On approaching 
their station, each detachment, as it arrives, in straggling 
groups like crows, sweeps round the marsh in waving flight, 
forming circles; amidst these bodies, the note of the old 
reconnoitring leader may be heard, and no sooner has he 
fixed upon the intended spot, than they all descend and 
take their stations in an instant. At this time they are 
also frequently accompanied by the Ferruginous species, 
with which they associate in a friendly manner. 

The Blackbird is easily tamed, sings in confinement, 
and may be taught to articulate some few words pretty dis- 
tinctly. Among the variety of its natural notes, the pecu- 
liarly affected sibilation of the Starling is heard in the 
wottitshee, wottitshee, aud whistle, which often accompanies 
this note. Their intestines and stomach are frequently 
infested by long, cylindric, tapering worms, which probably 
increase sometimes in such numbers as to destroy the bird. 


RUSTY BLACKBIRD. 211 


The male is 12 inches long, and 18 in alar extent. The prevailing 
black color of the body is relieved by glossy reflections ef steel blue, 
dark violet and green; the violet is most conspicuous on the head 
and breast, and the green on the hind part of the neck. The back, 
rump, and whole lower parts, with the exception of the breast, reflect 
a cupreous gloss. The wing-coverts, secondaries, and coverts of the 
tail, are light violet, with much of the red; the rest of the wings and 
rounded tail are black, with asteel-blue gloss. Iris silvery. —The 


female is rather less, but very similar in color, and glossy parti-culored 
reflections. 


RUSTY BLACKBIRD. 


(Quiscalus ferrugineus, Bonar. Aun. pl. 157. Gracula ferruginea 
Witson, iii. p. 41. pl. 21. fig. 3. [male, in the spring]. Scolecophagus 
ferrugineus. Swans. Bonar. p. 23. Philad Museum. No, 5514.) 


Sp. Cuaract. —Glossy-black, tail rounded; the length about 9 
inches ; vertical breadth of the bill at base about 4 of an inch: — 
Female nearly equal to the male, head, neck, and breast ferruginous- 
brown ; the belly and rump ash color.— Young with the feathers 
edged with ferruginous, 


Tuts species, less frequent than the preceding, is often 
associated with it, or with the Red-winged Troopial or 
the Cow-pen Bird, and, according to the season, they are 
found throughout America, from Hudson’s Bay to Flori- 
da and westward to the Pacific ocean. Early in April, 
according to Wilson, they pass hastily through Pennsyl- 
vania, on their return to the north to breed. Inthe month 
of March he observed them on the banks of the Ohio, 
near Kentucky river, during a snow storm. ‘They arrive 
in the vicinity of Hudson’s Bay about the beginning of 
May, and feed much in the manner of the common Crow- 
Blackbird on insects, which they find on or near the 
ground. Dr. Richardson saw them in the winter as far 
as the latitude of 53°, and in summer they range to the 


212 OMNIVEROUS BIRDS. 


68th parallel! or to the extremity of the wooded region. 
They sing in the pairing season, but become nearly silent 
while rearing their young; though when their brood re- 
lease them from care they again resume their lay, and 
may occasionally be heard until the approach of winter. 
Their song is quite as agreeable and musical as that of 
the Starling, and greatly surpasses that of any of the 
other species. I have heard them singing until the mid- 
dle of October. 

They are said to build in trees, and bushes at no great 
distance from the ground, making a nest similar to the 
other species, and lay 5 eggs, of a pale blue spotted with 
black. ‘The young and old, now assembling in large 
troops, retire from the northern regions in September. 
From the beginning of October to the middle of Novem- 
ber, they are seen in flocks through the Eastern States. 
During their stay in this vicinity, they assemble towards 
night to roost in or round the reed marshes of I’resh Pond, 
near Cambridge. Sometimes they select the willows by 
the water for their lodging, in preference to the reeds, 
which they give up to their companions the Crow-Black- 
birds. Early in October they feed chiefly on grasshoppers 
and berries, and at a later period pay a transient visit to 
the corn-fields. They pass the winter in the Southern 
States, and like their darker relatives, make familiar visits 
to the barn-yard and corn-cribs. Wilson remarks, that 
they are easily domesticated, and in a few days become 
quite familiar, being reconciled to any quarters while 
supplied with plenty of food. 


The male is about 9 inches in length; and 14 in alar extent; 
black, glossed with dark green; with the tail somewhat rounded ; 
Iris silvery. — The female is of about the same size with the male, 
and the young of the first season, of both sexes, are nearly of the 
same color. 


CROWS 213 


CORVUS. (Lry.) CROWS. 


In these the pixt is thick, straight at the base, curved towards the 
point, and compressed and edged at the’sides. Nosrrits at the base 
of the bill, open, and hidden in advancing hairs. The feet have 3 
toes before, and one behind, almost entirely divided to their base ; the 
tarsus longer than the middle toe. The wings sharp-pointed; the Ist 
primary short; the 3d and 4th, longest. The tail of 12 feathers. 

These birds appear to have the sense of smell very perfect. Sus- 
picious to excess they instinctively avoid all sorts of snares; they 
have also the cunning and caprice, to take and hide things which 
are useless to them. They can be rendered amusing domestics ; may 
be taught to articulate words, and to obey the voice of their master. 
All kinds of nourishment is acceptable to them; and they sometimes 
commit great waste, which they compensate in a measure, by the 
destruction they make of the larve of insects. The larger species 
occasionally prey on small birds, and most of them have a great ap- 
petite for eggs. They moult once ayear. The sexes are scarcely 
distinguishable from each other, and the young, after casting their 
first feathers resemble the adult. They travel and unite always in 
bands; and are spread over the whole globe. 


THE RAVEN. 


(Corvus coraz, Lin. Witson, 1x. p. 113. pl. 75. fig. 3. Aun. pl. 101. 
~ C. Catot!? Wacier. Bonar. p. 28. Philad. Museum, No. 175.) 


Sp. Cuaract.—Black; back glossed with bluish puvple; tail 
rounded extending far beyond the wings: 3d primary longest ; 
(length about 26 inches.) 


Tue sable Raven has been observed and described from 
the earliest times, and is a resident of almost every coun- 
try in the world; but is more particularly abundant in 
the western than the eastern parts of the United States, 
where it extends along the Oregon to the shores of the 
Pacific. This ominous bird has been generally despised 
and feared by the superstitious, even more than the noc- 


RAVEN. 315 


turnal Owl, though he prowls abroad in open day. He 
may be considered as holding a relation tothe birds of 
prey, feeding not only on carrion, but, occasionally seizing 
on weakly lambs, young hares, or rabbits, and seems in- 
deed to give a preference to animal food; but, at the same 
time, he is able to live on all kinds of fruits and grain, as 
well as insects, earth-worms, even dead fish, and in addi- 
tion to all, is particularly fond of eggs, so that no animal 
seems more truly omnivorous than the Raven. 

If we take into consideration his indiscriminating vo- 
racity, sombre livery, discordant croaking ery, with his 
ignoble, wild, and funereal aspect, we need not be sur- 
prised, that in times of ignorance and error, he should 
have been so generally regarded as an object of disgust 
and fear. Hestood preeminent in the list of sinister birds, 
or those whose only premonition was the announcing of 
misfortunes; and, strange to tell, there are many people 
yet in Europe, even in this enlightened age, who tremble 
and become uneasy at the sound of his harmless croaking. 
According to Adair, the southern aborigines also invoke 
the Raven for those who are sick, mimicking his voice; 
and the natives of the Missouri, assuming black as their 
emblem of war, decorate themselves, on those occasions, 
with the plumes of this dark bird. But all the knowledge 
of the future, or interest in destiny, possessed by the Ra- 
ven, like that of other inhabitants of the air, is bounded 
by an instinctive feeling of the changes which are about 
to happen in the atmosphere, and which he has the faculty 
of announcing by certain cries and actions produced by 
these external impressions. In the southern provinces of 
Sweden, as Linneus remarks, when the sky is serene, the 
Raven flies very high, and utters a hollow sound, like the 
word clong, which is heard to a great distance. Some- 
times he has been seen in the midst of a thunder storm, 


216 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS, 


with the electric fire streaming from the extremity of his 
bill,* a natural, though extraordinary phenomenon, suffi- 
cient to terrify the superstitious, and to stamp the harmless 
subject of it with the imaginary traits and attributes of a 
demon. 

In ancient times when divination made a part of reli- 
gion, the Raven, though a bad prophet, was yet a very 
interesting bird; for the passion for prying into future 
events, even the most dark and sorrowful, is an original 
propensity of human nature; accordingly, all the actions 
of this sombre bird, all the circumstances of its flight, 
and all the different intonations of its discordant voice, 
of which no less than 64 were remarked, had each of 
them an appropriate signification; and there were never 
wanting impostors to procure this pretended intelligence, 
nor people simple enough to credit it. Some even went 
so far as to impose upon themselves, by devouring the 
heart and entrails of the disgusting Raven, in the strange 
hope of thus appropriating its supposed gift of proph- 
ecy.t 

The Raven indeed not only possesses a great many nat- 
ural inflections of voice corresponding to its various feel- 
ings, but it has also a talent for imitating the cries of 
other animals, and even mimicking language. According 
to Buffon, colas is a word which he pronounces with pecu- 
liar facility. Connecting circumstances with his wants, 
Scaliger heard one, which when hungry, learnt very dis- 
tinctly to call upon Conrad the cook. The first of these 
words bears a great resemblance to one of the ordinary 
cries of this species, kowallah, kowallah. Besides posses- 
sing, in some measure, the faculty of imitating human 


* Scala Naturalis, apud ALprovanp. tom. 1. page 704. 
t Porruyr. De abstinendo ab animant. Lib. ii. 


RAVEN. 217 


speech, they are at times, capable of manifesting a durable 
attachment to their keeper, and become familiar about the 
house. Pliny speaks of the Raven being tamed, and 
taught to chase like the Falcon; and Scaliger affirms, that 
Louis the Twelfth had one that was trained to attack the 
Partridge. Albert saw another at Naples, which not only 
caught Partridges and Pheasants, but birds of its own spe- 
cies; when urged by the presence of the Falconer. 

The sense of smell, or rather that of sight, is very acute in 
the Raven, so that he discerns the carrion, on which he often 
feeds, at a great distance. ‘Thucydides even attributes te 
him the sagacity of avoiding to feed on animals which had 
died of the plague. Pliny relates a singular piece of in- 
genuity employed by this bird to quench his thirst ; he had 
observed water near the bottom of a narrow necked vase, 
to obtain which, he is said to have thrown in pebbles, one 
at a time, until the pile elevated the water within his reach. 
Nor does this trait, singular as it is, appear to be much 
more sagacious than that of carrying up nuts and shell-fish 
into the air, and dropping them on rocks, for the purpose 
of breaking them to obtain their contents, otherwise be- 
yond his reach; facts observed by men of credit, and re- 
corded as an instinct of the Raven, by Pennant and La- 
tham. It is however, seldom that this bird, any more than 
the rapacious kinds, feels an inclination for drinking, as 
their thirst is usually quenched by the blood and juices of 
their prey. The Ravens are also more social than the 
birds of prey, which arises from the promiscuous nature 
and consequent abundance of their food, which allows a 
greater number to subsist together in the same place, with 
out being urged to the stern necessity of solitude or 
famine, a condition to which the true rapacious birds are 
always driven. 'The habits of this species are much more 
generally harmless, than is usually imagined ; they are use- 


19 


218 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


ful to the farmer in the destruction they make of moles 
and mice, and are often very well contented with insects 
and earth-worms. 

Though spread over the whole world, they are rarely 
ever birds of passage, enduring the winters even of the 
arctic circle,* or the warmth of Mexico, St. Domingo, and 
Madagascar.t They are particularly attached to the rocky 
eyries where they have been bred and paired. Through- 
out the year they are observed together in nearly equal 
numbers, and they never entirely abandon this adopted 
home. If they descend into the plain, it is to collect sub- 
sistence ; but they resort to the low grounds more in winter 
than summer, as they avoid the heat and dislike to wander 
from their cool retreats. They never roost in the woods 
like Crows; and have sufficient sagacity to choose in their 
rocky retreats a situation defended from the winds of the 
north, commonly under the natural vault formed by an 
extending ledge or cavity of the rock. Here they retire 
during the night in companies of 15 to 20. They perch 
upon the bushes which grow straggling in the clefts of the 
rocks; but they form their nests in the rocky crevices, or 
in the holes of the mouldering walls, at the summits of 
ruined towers; and sometimes upon the high branches of 
large and solitary trees. After they have paired, their 
fidelity appears to continue through life. The male ex- 
presses his attachment by a particular strain of croaking, 
and they are often observed caressing, by approaching 
their bills, with as much semblance of affection as the 
truest turtle doves. In temperate climates, the Raven be- 
gins to lay in the months of February or March. The 
eggs are 5 or 6, of a pale muddy bluish-green, marked 
with numerous spots and lines of dark olive-brown. She 


* Richardson, in Parry’s Voyage. t¢ See Flacourt. 


RAVEN. 219 


sits about 20 days, and during this time the male takes care 
to provide her with abundance of nourishment. Indeed, 
from the quantity of grain, nuts, and fruits, which have 
been found at this time in the environs of the nest, this 
supply would appear to be a store laid up for future occa- 
sions. Whatever may be their forethought regarding food, 
they have a well known propensity to hide things which 
come within their reach, though useless to themselves, and 
appear to give a preference to pieces of metal, or any thing 
which has a brilliant appearance. At Erfurt, one of these 
birds had the patience to carry and hide, one by one, un- 
der a stone in the garden, a quantity of small pieces of 
money, which amounted, when discovered, to 5 or 6 flo- 
rins; and there are few countries which cannot afford 
similar instances of their domestic thefts. 

Of the perseverance of the Raven in the act of incuba- 
tion, Mr. White has related the following remarkable anec- 
dote: In the centre of a grove near Selborne, there stood 
a tall and shapeless oak, which bulged out into a large 
excrescence near the middle of the stem. On this tree a 
pair of Ravens had fixed their residence for such a series 
of years, that the oak was distinguished by the title of 
“The Raven Tree.” Many were the attempts of the 
neighboring youths to get at this nest; the difficulty 
whetted their inclinations, and each was ambitious of 
accomplishing the arduous task ; but when they arrived at 
the swelling, it jutted out so in their way, and was so far 
beyond their grasp, that the boldest lads were deterred, 
and acknowledged the undertaking to be too hazardous. 
Thus the Ravens continued to build, and rear their young 
in security, until the fatal day on which the wood was to 
be levelled. This was in the month of February, when 
these birds usually begin to sit. The saw was applied 
to the trunk, the wedges were driven, the woods echoed 


220 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


to the heavy blows of the beetle or mallet, and the tree 
nodded to its fall; but still the devoted Raven sat on. At 
last, when it gave way, she was flung from her ancient 
eyry; and, a victim to parental affection, was whipped 
down by the twigs, and brought lifeless to the ground. 

The young, at first more white than black, are fed by 
food previously prepared in the craw of the mother, and 
then disgorged by the bill, nearly in the manner of pigeons. 
The male, at this time, doubly vigilant and industrious, 
not only provides for, but defends his family vigorously 
from every hostile attack, and shows a particular enmity to 
the Kite, when he appears in his neighborhood, pouncing 
upon him and striking with his bill, until sometimes both 
antagonists descend to the ground. ‘The young are long 
and affectionately fed by the parents, and though they soon 
leave the nest, they remain, perching on the neighboring 
rocks, yet unable to make any extensive flight, and pass 
the time in continual complaining cries, till the approach 
of the parent with food, when their note changes into 
craw, craw, craw. Now and then, as they gain strength, 
they make efforts to fly, and then return to their rocky 
roost. About 15 days after leaving the nest, they become 
so well prepared for flight as to accompany the parents out 
on their excursions from morning to night; and it is amus- 
ing to watch the progress of this affectionate association, 
the young continuing the whole summer to go out with the 
old in the morning, and as regularly return with them 
again in the evening, so that however we may despise the 
appetite of the Raven, we cannot but admire the instinc- 
tive morality of his nature. 

Like birds of prey, the Ravens reject from the stomach, 
by the bill, the hard and indigestible parts of their food, 
as the stones of fruit, and the bones of small fish which 
they sometimes eat, 


CROW. 221 


The Raven is remarkable also for his longevity, being 
known to live more than a century. Although closely re- 
lated to the tribes of smaller birds, with which he is very 
properly associated, yet he may still be considered as hold- 
ing the place also of an additional link in the order of 
nature between the two preceding tribes of rapacious birds, 
namely, the Vultures and Hawks. 


The color of the Raven isa fine black, relieved with purple reflec- 
tions above ; tail black and much rounded. Bill strong, and, as well 
as the feet, black. The iris with 2 circles, greyish white, and cinere- 
ous brown. The female isa little smaller. It varies sometimes to 
total whiteness, or is of a yellowish white. Occasionally some parts 
of the body are white, and others black or rufous. 


THE CROW. 


(Corvus Americanus, Avp. pl. 156. Corvus corone, Lin. WiLson, iv. 
p. 79. pl. 35, fig. 3. Phil. Museum, No. 1246.) 


Spec. Cuaractr. — Black and glossy, with violet-colored reflections ; 
feathers of the neck broad and rounded ; the tail rounded, extending 
but little beyond the wings; the feathers of the tail acute ; the 4th 
primary longest, with the Ist equal to the 9th. [Length 18% inches.] 


Tue Crow, like the Raven, which it greatly resembles, 
is a denizen of nearly the whole world. ‘They are found 
even in New Holland, and the Philippine Islands; but are 
rare in Sweden, where the Raven abounds. ‘They are also 
common in Siberia, and plentiful in the arctic deserts be- 
yond the Lena. 

The native Crow is a constant and troublesomely abund- 
ant resident in most of the settled districts of North 
America, as well as an inhabitant of the Western wilds 
throughout the Rocky Mountains, to the banks of the 
Oregon and the shores of the Pacific. They only retire 

1o% 


222 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


into the forests in the breeding season, which takes place 
from March to May. At this time they are dispersed 
through the woods in pairs, and roost in the neighborhood 
of the spot which they have selected for their nest; and 
the conjugal union, once formed, continues for life. They 
are now very noisy and vigilant against any intrusion on 
their purpose, and at times appear influenced by mutual 
jealousy, but never proceed to any violence. The tree they 
select is generally lofty, and preference seems often given 
to some dark and concealing evergreen. The nest is 
formed externally of small twigs, coarsely interlaced to- 
gether, plastered and matted with earth, moss, and long 
horse-hair, and thickly and carefully lined with large quan- 
tities of the last material, wool, or the finest fibres of roots, 
so as to form a very comfortable bed for the helpless and 
naked young. ‘The eggs are 4 to 6, of a pale and dirty 
green, marked with numerous blotches and streaks of 
blackish brown or olive. 

The male at this season is extremely watchful, recon- 
noitring the neighborhood, and giving an alarm as any 
person happens to approach towards their nest, when both 
retire to a distance till the intruder disappears; and in 
order the better to conceal their brood, they remain un- 
commonly silent, until these are in a situation to follow 
them on the wing. The male also carries food to his mate 
while confined to her eggs, and at times relieves her by 
sitting in her absence. In Europe, when the Raven, the 
Buzzard, or the Kestril makes his appearance, the pair 
join instantly in the attack, and sometimes, by dint of furi- 
ous blows, destroy their enemy; yet the Butcher-bird, 
more alert and courageous, not only resists, but often van- 
quishes the Crows, and carries off their young. Like the 
Ravens, endued with an unrestrained and natural affection, 
they continue the whole succeeding summer to succor and 


CROW. 223 


accompany their offspring in all their undertakings and 
excursions. 

The Crow is equally omnivorous with the Raven; in- 
sects, worms, carrion, fish, grain, fruits, and in short every 
thing digestible by any or all the birds in existence, being 
alike acceptable to this gormandizing animal. His de- 
struction of bird-eggs is also very considerable. In Eu- 
rope they are often detected feeding their voracious young 
with the precious eggs of the Partridge, which they very 
sagaciously convey by carefully piercing and sticking them 
expertly on the bill. They also know how to break nuts 
and shell-fish by dropping them from a great height upon 
the rocks below. They visit even the snares and devour 
the birds which they find caught, attacking the weak and 
wounded game. They also sometimes seize on young 
chickens and ducks, and have even been observed to pounce 
upon pigeons, in the manner of hawks, and with almost 
equal success. So familiar and audacious are they in some 
parts of the Levant, that they will frequent the courts of 
houses, and like harpies alight boldly on the dishes, as the 
servants are conveying in the dinner, and carry off the 
meat, if not driven away by blows. In turn however the 
Crow finds enemies too powerful for him to conquer, such 
as the Kite and Eagle Owl, who occasionally make a meal 
of this carrion bird, a voracious propensity which the Vir- 
ginian Owl also sometimes exhibits towards the same spe- 
cies. Wherever the Crow appears, the smaller birds take 
the alarm, and vent upon him their just suspicions and 
reproaches. But it is only the redoubtable King-bird who 
has courage for the attack, beginning the onset by pursu- 
ing and diving on his back from above, and harassing the 
plunderer with such violence, that he is generally glad to 
get out of the way and forego his piratical visit ; in short, 
asingle pair of these courageous and quarrelsome birds 


294 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


are sufficient to clear the Crows from an extensive corn- 
field. 

The most serious mischief, of which the Crow is guilty, 
is that of pillaging the maize field. He commences at the 
planting-time, by picking up and rooting out the sprouting 
grain, and in the autumn, when it becomes ripe, whole 
flocks, now assembled at their roosting-places, blacken the 
neighboring fields as soon as they get into motion, and do 
extensive damage at every visit, from the excessive numbers 
who now rush to the inviting feast. 

Their rendezvous, or roosting-places, are the resort in 
autumn of all the Crows and their families for many miles 
round. The blackening silent train continues to arrive 
for more than an hour before sunset, and some still strag- 
gle on until dark. They never arrive in dense flocks, 
but always in long lines, each falling into the file as he 
sees opportunity. This gregarious inclination is common 
to many birds in the autumn, which associate only in pairs 
in the summer. ‘The forests and groves, stripped of their 
agreeable and protecting verdure, seem no longer safe and 
pleasant to the feathered nations. Exposed to the birds of 
prey, which daily augment in numbers; penetrated by the 
chilling blasts, which sweep without control through the 
naked branches, the birds, now impelled by an overruling 
instinct, seek in congregated numbers some general, safer, 
and more commodious retreat. Islands of reeds, dark and 
solitary thickets, and neglected swamps, are the situations 
chosen for their general diurnal retreats and roosts. Swal- 
lows, Black-birds, Rice-birds, and Crows seem always to 
prefer the low shelter of reed-flats. On the river Dela- 
ware, in Pennsylvania, there are two of these remarkable 
Crow-roosts. ‘The one mentioned by Wilson is an island 
near Newcastle, called the Pea-Patch, a low, flat, alluvial 
spot, just elevated above high-water mark, and thickly coy- 


CROW. 225 


ered with reeds, on which the Crows alight and take shel- 
ter for the night. Whether this roost be now occupied by 
these birds or not, I cannot pretend to say, but in Decem- 
ber, 1829, I had occasion to observe their arrival on Reedy 
Island, just above the commencement of the bay of that 
river, in vast numbers; and asthe wind wafted any beating 
vessel towards the shore, they rose in a cloud, and filled 
the air with clamor. Indeed, their vigilant and restless 
cawing continued till after dark. 

Creatures of mere instinct, they foresee no perils beyond 
their actual vision, and thus, when they least expect it, are 
sometimes swept away by an unexpected destruction. 
Some years ago, during the prevalence of a sudden and 
violent northeast storm, accompanied by heavy rains, the 
Pea Patch island was wholly inundated in the night, and 
the unfortunate Crows, dormant and bewildered, made no 
attempts to escape, and were drowned by thousands, so 
that their bodies blackened the shores the following day for 
several miles in extent. 

The Crow, like many other birds, becomes injurious 
and formidable only in the gregarious season. At other 
times they live so scattered, and are so shy and cautious, 
that they are but seldom seen. But their armies, like all 
other great and terrific assemblies, have the power, in 
limited districts, of doing very sensible mischief to the 
agricultural interests of the community; and in conse- 
quence, the poor Crow, notwithstanding his obvious ser- 
vices in the destruction of a vast host of insects and their 
larve, is proscribed as a felon in all civilized countries, 
and, with the wolves, panthers, and foxes, a price is put 
upon his head. In consequence, various means of ensnar- 
ing the outlaw have been had recourse to. Of the gun he 
is extremely cautious, and suspects its appearance at the 
first glance, perceiving with ready sagacity the wily man- 


2°26 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


ner of the fowler. So fearful and suspicious are they of 
human artifices, that a mere line stretched round a field is 
often found sufficient to deter these wily birds from a visit 
to the corn-field. Against poison he is not so guarded, 
and sometimes corn steeped in hellebore is given him, 
which creates giddiness and death. According to Buffon, 
pieces of paper in the form of a hollow cone, smeared in- 
side with bird-lime, and containing bits of raw meat, have 
been employed. In attempting to gain the bait, the dupe 
becomes instantly hood-winked, and, as the safest course 
out of the way of danger, the Crow flies directly upwards 
to a great height, but becoming fatigued with the exertion, 
he generally descends pretty near to the place from which 
he started, and is then easily taken. 

Another curious method, related by the same author, is 
that of pinning a live Crow to the ground by the wings, 
stretched out on his back, and retained in this posture by 
two sharp, forked sticks. In this situation, his loud cries 
attract other Crows, who come sweeping down to the pros- 
trate prisoner, and are grappled in his claws. In this way 
each successive prisoner may be made the innocent means 
of capturing his companion. The reeds in which they 
roost, when dry enough, are sometimes set on fire also to 
procure their destruction; and, to add to the fatality pro- 
duced by the flames, gunners are also stationed round to 
destroy those that attempt to escape by flight. In severe 
winters they suffer occasionally from famine and cold, and 
fall sometimes dead in the fields. According to Wilson, 
in one of these severe seasons, more than 600 Crows 
were shot on the carcass of a dead horse, which was 
placed at a proper shooting distance froma stable. The 
premiums obtained for these, and the price procured for 
the quills, produced to the farmer nearly the value of the 
horse when living, besides affording feathers sufficient to 


fill a bed! 


FISH CROW. OT 


The Crow is easily raised and domesticated, and soon 
learns to distinguish the different members of the family 
with which he is associated. He screams at the approach 
of a stranger; learns to open the door by alighting on the 
latch ; attends regularly at meal times; is very noisy and 
loquacious ; imitates the sound of various words which he 
hears; is very thievish, given to hiding curiosities in holes 
and crevices, and is very fond of carrying off pieces of 
metal, corn, bread, and food of all kinds; he is also par- 
ticularly attached to the society of his master, and recol- 
lects him sometimes after a long absence. 

It is commonly believed and asserted in some parts of 
this country, that the Crows engage at times in general 
combat; but it has never been ascertained whether this 
hostility arises from civil discord, or the opposition of two 
different species, contesting for some exclusive privilege of 
subsisting-ground. It is well known that Rooks often con- 
tend with each other, and drive away, by every persecuting 
means, individuals who arrive among them from any other 
rookery. 


The Crow is much smaller than the Raven, and is of a deep black 
with violet reflections. The bill and feet are also black. The iris 
hazel. (The European bird is 20 inches, or nearly,and has the feath- 
ers of the neck narrow and distinct.) The female is smaller, and 
the reflections of the plumage are less lively. It varies sometimes to 
yellowish or greyish white, and occasionally the plumage is more or 
less varied with white feathers. Sometimes one part or other of the 
body will be white or rufous grey. 


THE FISH CROW. 


(Corvus ossifragus, Wison, vy. p. 27. pl. 37. fig. 2. Aun. pl. 146. 
Philad. Museum, No. 1369.) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Glossy black, with violet reflections; the chin na- 
ked; tail slightly rounded, extending more than an inch beyond 


the folded wings; the 4th primary longest; the Ist much shorter 
than the 9th; (length 16 inches.) 


228 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Witson was the first to observe the distinctive traits of 
this smaller and peculiar American species of Crow along 
the sea-coast of Georgia. It is met with as far north as 
the coast of New Jersey, and although we did not see 
them in the western interior of the continent, they are 
common on the banks of the Oregon, where they were 
nesting in the month of April. It keeps apart from the 
common species, and instead of assembling to roost among 
the reeds at night, retires, towards evening, from the shores 
which afford it a subsistence, and perches in the neighbor- 
ing woods. Its notes, probably various, are at times hoarse 
and guttural, at others weaker and higher. They pass 
most part of their time near rivers, hovering over the 
stream to catch up dead and perhaps living fish, or other 
animal matters which float within their reach; at these 
they dive with considerable celerity, and seizing them in 
their claws, convey them to an adjoining tree, and devour 
the fruits of their predatory industry at leisure. They also 
snatch up water-lizards in the same manner, and feed upon 
small crabs; at times they are seen even contending with the 
Gulls for their prey. It is amusing to see with what steady 
watchfulness they hover over the water in search of their 
precarious food, having, in fact, all the traits of the Gull ; 
but they subsist more on accidental supplies, than by any 
regular system of fishing. On land they have sometimes 
all the familiarity of the Magpy, hopping upon the backs 
of cattle, in whose company they, no doubt, occasionally 
meet with a supply of insects when other sources fail. 
They are also regular in their attendance on the fishermen 
of New Jersey for the purpose of gleaning up the refuse 
of the fish. They are less shy and suspicious than the 
common Crow, and, showing no inclination for plundering 
the corn-fields, are rather friends than enemies to the 
farmer. They appear near Philadelphia, from the middle of 


FISH CROW. 229 


March to the beginning of June, during the season of the 
shad and herring fishery. 

They breed in New Jersey in tall trees, having nests and 
eggs very similar to those of the preceding species, and 
rear a brood of 4 or 5 young, with whom they are seen in 
company in the month of July. 


The Fishing Crow is 16 inches long, and 33 in alar extent. The 
chin is often bare of feathers around the base of the lower mandible. 
The eye very small. Irids dark hazel. Claws black, sharp, and 
long, the hind one largest. Male and female much alike. 

This species bears some resemblance to the Rook in general ap- 
pearance, and by the bare space near the bill, but it is smaller, longer 
tailed, and wholly different in its habits and mode of living. The 
gregarious character of the Rook is very remarkable ; more than a 
dozen nests may be counted in the same tree, and some scores are 
seen in the same vicinity. They very seldom remove from the places 
thus chosen, and if a straggling pair attempt to intrude into the rook- 
ery, as they are apt todo from their instinctive dislike of solitude, 
severe contests ensue. In the year 1783, a pair of these birds, driven 
from settling in the general resort in the neighborhood of the ex- 
change at Newcastle, took refuge, at length, on the spire of that 
building, and though still interrupted by the neighboring Rooks, they 
contrived to fix their nest on the top of the vane, and undisturbed by 
the noise of the populace below, they reared their young, who, with 
the nest and its owners, were turned about by every change of the 
wind. They returned and continued to refit the nest for 10 succes- 
sive years, until the taking down of the spire put an end to their 
aérial castle. 


PICA. (Briss.) MAGPIES. 


Tue feathers of the head not erectile. The tail very 
long and wedge-shaped. The general color of these birds 
is black and white, sometimes variegated, also wholly dark, 

They advance by leaps instead of steps; and have usu- 


ally a low and short flight. 
20 


‘\ 


Sins _ UIUC? 
<— Gian 


MAGPIE. 


(Pica melanoleuca, Avv. pl. 357. Corvus pica, Lix. WILson, iv. p. 75. 
pl. 35. fig. 2. Pica Hudsonica, Bonar. C. Hudsonica, SaBint.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Of a deep velvety black; the belly, primaries on 
the inner web, and scapulars white ; the tail about 10 inches long, 
greenish black with bronzed reflections. 


Tus bird is much more common in Europe than in 
America, being confined in this country to the northern 
regions, and to the plains and table lands or steppes of the 
Rocky Mountains west of the Mississippi. ‘Thence they 
continue to the banks of the Columbia, and on the oppo- 
site side of northern and temperate Asia, are found in 
Kamschatka, Japan, and China. They are sometimes met 
with as far down the Missouri as Boonsborough in the se- 
verity of winter, driven from the western wilderness, only 
by the imperious calls of hunger. In summer they are so 
rare, even in the Missouri territory, that from March to 
October, and from St. Louis to the trading-house at the 


MAGPIE. 931 


Mandans, a distance by the river of 1600 miles, a party of 
near 70 men, attended by constant hunters, never met with 
a single Pie, nor were any appearances of their nests any 
where visible. 1100 miles up the Arkansa, and more than 
1000 up Red River, countries which I visited in summer, 
never presented a specimen of this otherwise familiar and 
roving bird. The season of incubation with the American 
Pies, so different from their familiar habits in the old con- 
tinent, is passed, no doubt, in the wooded recesses of the 
Rocky Mountains, which abound with berries and acorns, 
and with small birds and their eggs. ‘They are known to 
make so great a destruction among the eggs of Grouse, 
Pheasants, Partridges, and even among young chickens, in 
many parts of Europe, as to be proscribed by law, and de- 
stroyed for the premium justly set on their heads. The 
absence of food and shelter for their nests in summer, suit- 
able for the Magpie, on the vast prairies of the Arkansas 
and Missouri, particularly in the dry deserts at the base of 
the Rocky Mountains, will probably continue as a perpet- 
ual barrier to the eastern migrations of this mischievous 
species, whose means of flight and travelling are still more 
circumscribed than those of the common Crow. They 
consequently experience annually, in the terrible vicissi- 
tudes of climate incident to the countries they inhabit, 
like the Esquimaux of the arctic regions, either a feast 
or a famine, and are rendered so bold and voracious by 
want, that in the vicinity of the northern Andes, towards 
New Mexico, Colonel Pike was visited by them in the 
month of December, in latitude 41°, while the thermome- 
ter was at the dreadful line of 17° below zero, on the 
scale of Reaumur. ‘They now assembled round the mis- 
erable party in great numbers for the purpose of picking 
the sore backs of their perishing horses, and, like the Vul- 
‘ture of Prometheus, they did not await the death of the 


232 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


subjects they tormented, but fed upon them still living, till 
their flesh was raw and bleeding. They were so bold and 
familiar as to alight on the men’s arms, and eat flesh out 
of their hands.* 

To the party of Lewis and Clark the Magpies were 
also very familiar and voracious, so that they penetrated 
into their tents, and without ceremony, like the Harpies 
of Virgil, snatched the meat even from the dishes, pre- 
ferring the chance of any death to that of hunger. They 
where also frequent attendants on the hunters, and while 
these were engaged in dressing and skinning their game, 
the Pies would venture to seize the meat suspended within 
a foot or two of their heads. ; 

Impelled by hunger, this species does not refuse to feed 
on carrion, but their usual familiar visits to the backs of 
cattle have a beneficial tendency, as they rid them of the 
larve which burrow and nestle in the skin; they also eat 
various kinds of grain, acorns, seeds, fruits, and other 
vegetable substances, and are greedy of worms, and in- 
sects of all kinds. 

In our tour across the continent, we first met with the 
Magpie, on the 15th of July, on the borders of Lewis’s 
river of the Shoshonee. Mostly accompanied by the Ra- 
yen, but there were scarcely any Crows. ‘The young birds 
were so familiar and greedy, (approaching the encamp- 
ment in quest of food) as to be easily taken by the Indian 
boys, when they soon become reconciled to savage domes- 
ticity. The old birds were sufficiently shy, but the young 
continued hopping and croaking around us, and tugging 
at any offal thrown out, like so many vultures. Differing | 
so far from the prescribed and persecuted Pies of Europe, 
these, at least the young, seemed evidently to court the 


* Pike’s Journal, p. 170, 


MAGPIE, 233 


advantages of society in supplying them with food, and 
betrayed scarcely any alarm on our approach. If chased 
off for an instant, they returned the next, and their 
monotonous and gluttonous croak was heard around us 
at all hours of the day. The dryness of the season, and 
the scarcity of insects and small birds, urged them, no 
doubt to this unusual familiarity with their doubtful friend 
and frequent enemy, man. By the borders of streams in 
the central table land of the Rocky mountains, in several 
places we saw the old nests of the Magpie, made in low 
but thick bushes, in the usual manner, barricaded over and 
floored with interlaced twigs. We scarcely ever saw them 
at all in the heavy forests of the Oregon, any more than on 
the Platte, and Missouri, in all which places they are 
merely accidental visitors. ‘They are not uncommon, how- 
ever, in the vicinity of Monterey in California. Their 
common call is, pay pay, and the usual low social chatter 
when approaching their companions. I one day observed 
a small flock, and among them heard one chattering famil- 
larly in the varied tune of the Cat-bird, as he sat ona 
bough by the water, where small birds might become his 
prey. At another time I observed a flock of young Pies 
boldly pursuing other birds, and chasing even Pigeon 
Hawks. 

The Pie is also easily domesticated, and taught to imi- 
tate the human voice, articulating words with distinctness 
and emphasis. One which I saw, thas familiarized, was 
very fond of accosting passengers by what? what? what? 
and heaving the inmates where he dwelt energetically pro- 
nounce oaths, he became an adept at profane language. 
Heis readily accustomed to the sight of man, being very 
familiar in the house, of which, in time, he makes him- 


self the master; not fearing even the cats, with whom he 
20* 


234 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


has been known to live securely, and even pass upon them 
various tricks. 

He is extremely restless, active, and capricious on the 
ground, over which he leaps with antic gait, and con- 
tinues briskly moving his tail in different directions; he is 
also very mischievous, and given to mocking and imitat- 
ing all he sees and hears. His common prate is, like 
that of the Crow, but, besides his imitations of speech, he 
will sometimes counterfeit the lowing of the calf, the 
bleating of the goat, the sheep, and even the flageolet of 
the shepherd. One has been heard to imitate the flour- 
ish of a trumpet; and Willughby saw several that could 
pronounce whole phrases. 

Like the Crow, the Pie has the habit of stealing and 
hiding provisions or pieces of money, which it performs 
with so much art, that they are often difficult to be 
found. It is pretended by hunters, that the Pie has a 
knowledge of arithmetic up to 5, so that when from 2 to 
that number of men entered a hut near the nest, it would 
not venture into it, while 2, 3, or 4 of the 5 came out, 
and only lost count when the experiment was made with 6. 

Cunning and precaution indeed prevail in all the ac- 
tions of the Pie, and are in nothing more evident than in 
the construction of his nest, which is situated either in a 
large tree, or a high and close bush on the edge of the 
forest or the orchard, and often in the tall hedge-row near 
the cottage. Both sexes unite in the necessary labor, and 
begin by fortifying it externally with flexible twigs, fil- 
ling in towards the bottom pieces of turf and clay; it is 
then wholly covered with a canopy or defence formed 
with small thorny branches, well interlaced together, and 
leaving an entrance only in the best defended and least 
accessible side. Internally the nest is covered with a 
thick layer of well-wrought clay; this is then lined with a 


MAGPIE. pe 3° 


mass of pliable root fibres neatly interlaced together, which 
is in reality the true nest or bed for the tender young, 
and is only about 6 inches in diameter, while the whole of 
the defensive outworks give a diameter of at least 2 feet, 
The eggs are 3 to 6 in number, rather long, and of a 
whitish green, spotted with cinereous grey, and olive 
brown. Near Portsoy, in Scotland, a pair of Magpies for 
several succeeding years built their nest, and brought up 
their young in a gooseberry bush; and the more securely 
to defend this lowly mansion, they encircled the bush 
with briars and thorns in such a manner, that no sort of 
enemy but man could gain access to it. They annually 
repaired and fortified their dwelling in each succeeding 
spring with strong thorny twigs, sometimes so large that 
the pair jointly employed their force, dragging, at either 
end, a stick that they were unable to lift from the ground. 

The Pies also defend their nest and young with great 
courage from the approach of the Crow, or even the Fal- 
con and Hagle, and are said occasionally to carry off the 
eggs, if the nest be too curiously observed. As might 
have been anticipated from his sagacity, the Pie has been 
considered as a messenger of fate in the north of Europe, 
and I have myself, when a boy, been often delighted or 
vexed, by the augural destiny of their appearance in cer- 
tain lucky or unlucky numbers. The antiquity of this su- 
perstition, still in existence, goes back probably to the time 
of the Romans. 


This species is 18 to 19 inches in length. The feathers of the tail 
are of very unequal lengths. The bill, iris, and feet are black. The 
secondaries purplish blue. The Pie varies sometimes to pure white. 
with a reddish iris, being then an albino, Sometimes the whole plum- 
age is variegated with tints of rufous grey, or black. Occasionally, 
according to Buffon, it occurs wholly black. 


236 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE. 


(Pica Nuttallii, Avp. Orn. Biog. v. 4. p. 450. pl. 362. Bonar. Birds of 
Europe and Amer. p. 27.) 


Spec. Cuanact. — Bill and a bare space beneath and behind the eye 
yellow; feathers of the tail rather narrow ; the rest as in the com- 
mon Magpie. 


As we proceed to the south in upper California, around 
the village of Santa Barbara, we find the Common Magpie 
substituted by this remarkable species, which is much 
more shy and cautious, as well as more generally insectiv- 
orous. It utters, however, nearly if not quite the same 
chatter. In the month of April they were every where 
mated, and had nearly completed their nests in the ever- 
green oaks of the vicinity (Quercus agrifolia.) 'The only 
one I saw was situated on a rather high tree, towards the 
summit, and much concealed among the branches. Their 
call was pait, pait; and on approaching each other, a low 
congratulatory chatter was heard. After being fired at 
once, it seemed nearly impossible again to approach them 
within gun-shot. When alighted in the thick oaks, they 
remained for a considerable time silent, and sometimes 
even wholly hide themselves; but after a while the call of 
recognition was renewed, and if the pair then met, they 
would often fly off a mile or more, without stopping, in 
quest of food. We often saw them on the ground, but 
never near the offal of the oxen, so attractive to the Crows 
and Ravens around. 


Length to the end of the tail 18 inches, wing from the flexure 7 
inches long. The form, proportion, and colors quite similar to those 
of the Magpie.— Figured by Audubon ona branch of the Platanus 
*racemosus, lanuginous, with the leaves deeply cleft, and the fruit in 
pendulous racemes, 3 or 4 on a filiform stalk. Found in the vicinity 
of Santa Barbara. 


BULLOCK’S MAGPIE. Sar 


BULLOCK’S MAGPIE. 


(Pica Bullocki, Nowts. Garrulus Bullocki, WaGLeR. AvupusBon, pl. 
96. Garrula gubernatriz, Temminck. Cyanurus Bullocki, Bonar. 
p. 27.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Bright blue ; with a lofty crest of separate plumes ; 
capistrum, throat, and breast black; belly whitish ; tail-feathers 
largely tipped with white, except the 4 upper, which are longer, the 
2 central ones curved, and nearly twice the length of the laterals. 


Or this large and magnificent species, scarcely any 
thing is, as yet, known, but the splendid figure in Audu- 
bon’s unparalleled work. It is not uncommon in Mexico, 
and the individual figured by Audubon was said to be ob- 
tained on the banks of the Columbia river. Mr. Town- 
send and myself, however, never met with it in any part of 
that territory; nor have I seen it in upper California. The 
size appears to be equal to that of a Raven, and the bright 
blue, graduated, fan-like tail, with 2 af the central feath- 
ers extended far beyond the rest, appears more like the 
train of some tropical Parrot, than a near relation to the 
common Crow. 


Length 31 inches, The crest formed of long and distinct feathers ; 
region round the eyes, throat, and upper part of the breast, black ; 
3d and 4th primaries longest; the Ist very short. Tail very long. 
Bill and legs brownish black. Inner webs of the quills dusky, and 
no stripes on any part. 


GARRULUS. (Briss.) JAYS. 


Wiru the bill rather short and straight ; the upper man- 
dible somewhat inflected at tip; the lower keeled. Feath- 
ers of the head capable of being erected at will. ‘The 
Wings not extending to the tip of the tail. The colors 


238 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


usually brilliant, frequently with more or less of blue, or 

of the still brighter colors of the Roller (Corracias.) 
They are noisy and inquisitive ; like the Pies, progress 

by leaps, and with them, have a low and unprotracted 


flight. 


BLUE JAY. 


(Garrulus cristatus, Aup. pl 102. Corvus cristatus, Lix. Wi1son, i. 
p- 1l. pl. 1. fig. 1. Cyanocoraz cristatus, Bo1ir. Bonar. p. 27.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Crested, and blue; beneath whitish with a black 
collar; the wing-coverts transversely barred with black; the tail 
wedge-shaped. 


Tuts elegant and common species is met with in the in- 
terior, from the remote north-western regions near Peace 


BLUE JAY. 239 


river in the 54th to the 56th degree, Lake Winnipique in 
the 49th degree; the eastern steppes of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, and southwestward to the banks of the Arkansa, also 
along the Atlantic regions from the confines of Newfound- 
land to the peninsula of Florida, and the shores of the 
Gulph of Mexico. 

The Blue Jay is a constant inhabitant both of the wood- 
ed wilderness and the vicinity of the settled farm, though 
more familiar at the approach of winter and early in 
spring, than at any other season. ‘These wanderings or 
limited migrations are induced by necessity alone; his 
hoards of grain, nuts, and acorns, either have failed, or 
are forgotten ; for, like other misers, he is more assiduous 
to amass, than to expend or enjoy his stores, and the fruits 
of his labors very frequently either devolve to the rats or 
squirrels, or accidentally assist in the replanting of the 
forest. His visits at this time are not unfrequent in the 
garden and orchard, and his usual petulant address, of 
djdy, jay, jay, and other harsh and trumpeting articula- 
tions, soon make his retreat known to all in his neighbor- 
hood. So habitual is this sentinel cry of alarm, and so 
expressive, that all the birds within call, as well as other 
wild animals, are instantly on the alert, so that the fowler 
and hunter become generally disappointed of their game 
by this his garrulous and noisy propensity ; he is therefore, 
for his petulance, frequently killed without pity or profit, 
as his flesh, though eaten, has but little to recommend it. 
His more complaisant notes, when undisturbed, though 
guttural and echoing, are by no means unpleasant, and fall 
in harmoniously with the cadence of the feathered choris- 
ters around him, so as to form a finishing part to the 
general music of the grove. is accents of blandishment, 
when influenced by the softer passions, are low and musi- 
cal, so as to be scarcely heard beyond the thick branches 


240 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


where he sits concealed; but, as soon as discovered, he 
bursts out into notes of rage and reproach, accompanying 
his voice by jerks and actions of temerity and defiance. 
Indeed the Jay of Europe, with whom our beau agrees 
entirely in habits, is so irascible and violent in his move- 
ments, as sometimes to strangle himself in the narrow fork 
of a branch from which he has been found suspended.* 
Like the European species, he also exhibits a great antipa- 
thy to the Owl, and by his loud and savage vociferation 
soon brings together a noisy troop of all the busy birds in 
the neighborhood. To this garrulous attack the night 
wanderer has no reply, but a threatening stare of indif- 
ference ; and, as soon as opportunity offers, he quietly slips 
from his slandering company. Advantage, in some coun- 
tries, is taken of this dislike for the purpose of catching 
birds; thus the Owl being let out of a box, sometimes 
makes a hoot, which instantly assembles a motley group, 
who are then caught by liming the neighboring twigs on 
which they perch. In this gossip the Jay and Crow are 
always sure to take part, if within sight or hearing of the 
call, and are thus caught or destroyed at will. The com- 
mon Jay is even fond of imitating the harsh voice of the 
Owl and the noisy Kestril. I have also heard the Blue Jay 
mock with a taunting accent the ké oo, ké oo, or quailing 
of the Red-Shouldered Hawk. Wilson likewise heard 
him take singular satisfaction in teasing and mocking the 
little oe ae row Hawk,t and imposing upon him 
plaints of a wounded bird, in whicltaf oli 
several would appegr to join, until their sport comet 
ended in sudden consternation, by the Hawk, justly enough, 
pouncing on one of them as his legitimate and devoted 


prey. 


by the pretende 


* See Gesner de Avibus, p. 702. + Falco Sparverius. 


A BLUE JAY. 241 


His talent for mimickry when domesticated, is likewise 
so far capable of improvement, as to enable him to imitate 
human speech, articulating words with some distinctness ; 
and on hearing voices, like a parrot, he would endeavor 
to contribute his important share to the tumult. Bewick 
remarks of the common Jay of Europe, that he heard one 
so exactly counterfeit the action of a saw, that though on 
a Sunday, he could scarcely be persuaded but that some 
carpenter was at work. Another, unfortunately, rendered 
himself a serious nuisance by learning to hound a cur dog 
upon the domestic cattle, whistling and calling him by 
name, so that at length a serious accident occurring in 
consequence, the poor Jay was proscribed. ‘The Blue Jay 
becomes also, like the Crow and Magpie, a very mischiev- 
ous purloiner of every thing he is capable of conveying 
away and hiding. 

One which I have seen in a state of domestication, be- 
haved with all the quietness and modest humility of Wil- 
son’s caged bird with a petulant companion. He seldom 
used his voice, came in to lodge in the house at night in 
any corner where he was little observed, but unfortunately 
perished by an accident before the completion of his edu- 
cation, or the proper developement of his intellect. 

The favorite food of this species is chesnuts, acorns, 
and Indian corn or maize, the latter of which he breaks 
before swallowing. He also feeds occasionally on the 
larger insects and caterpillars, as well as orchard fruits, 
particularly cherries, and does not even refuse the humble 
fare of potatoes. In times of scarcity he falls upon car- 
rion, and has been known to venture into the barn, through 
accidental openings ; when, as if sensible of the danger of 
purloining, he is active and silent, and if surprised, post- 
poning his garrulity, he retreats with noiseless precipita- 
tion, and with all the cowardice of a thief. The worst 

21 


242 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


trait of his appetite, however, is his relish for the eggs of 
other birds, in quest of which he may frequently be seen 
prowling, and with a savage cruelty he sometimes also de- 
vours the callow young, spreading the plaint of sorrow and 
alarm wherever he flits. The whole neighboring commu- 
nity of little birds, assembled at the cry of distress, some- 
times, however, succeed in driving off the ruthless plun- 
derer, who, not always content with the young, has been 
seen to attack the old, though with dubious success; but 
to the gallant and quarrelsome King-bird, he submits like 
a coward, and driven to seek shelter, even on the ground, 
from the repeated blows of his antagonist, sneaks off, well 
contented to save his life. 

The Blue Jay often builds his nest in the cedar, and 
sometimes on an orchard tree, displaying little art in its 
construction, forming it of twigs and other coarse mate- 
rials, and lining it with the fibres of roots. The eggs, 
about 5, are of a dull olive, and spotted with brown. He 
is particularly cautious to make his visits to the spot as 
silent and secret as possible. Although a few of these 
birds are seen with us nearly through the winter, numbers, 
no doubt, make predatory excursions to milder regions, so 
that they appear somewhat abundant at this season in the 
Southern States; yet they are known to rear their young 
from Canada, to South Carolina, so that their migrations, 
may be nothing more than journeys from the high-lands 
towards the warmer and more productive sea-coast, or 
eastern frontier. 


The Jay is 11 inches in length. The crest is pale blue. A narrow 
line of black runs along the frontlet, rising on each side higher than 
the eye, but not extending over it. A collar of black passes down so 
as to form acrescent on the breast. Back and upper parts of the 
neck of a fine light purple, in which blue predominates, Chin, 
cheeks, throat, and belly, white, with some blue, except in the last. 
Greater wing-coverts rich blue. Coverts and secondaries barred with 


STELLER’S JAY. 243 


erescents of black, and tipt with white. Tail of 12 feathers, long, 
and wedged, of a glossy bright blue, marked at small intervals with 
transverse curves of black, each feather, except the 2 middle darker 
ones, being tipt with white. Breast and sides under the wings, grey- 
ish white, tinged with vinaceous. Mouth, tongue, bill, legs, and 
elaws black. Iris hazel. 


STELLER’S JAY. 


(Garrulus Stellert, Aup. pl. 362. fig. 2. Corvus Stelleri, PALL. GMELIN. 
Bonar. Am. Orn. ii. p. 44. pl. 13. fig. 1. Cyanocorax Stellert, Bonar. 
p. 27.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Crested; blue; head and neck blackish; secon- 
daries and tail-feathers slightly banded with black, tail rounded. 


We first observed this bird in our Western route in the 
Blue Mountains of the Oregon, east of Walla-Walla. 
Here they were scarce and shy, but we met them in suffi- 
cient abundance in the majestic pine forests of the Colum- 
bia, where, in autumn, their loud and trumpeting clangor 
was heard at all hours of the day, calling out djay, djay, 
and sometimes chattering and uttering a variety of other 
notes very similar to those of the common Blue Jay. 
They are, however, far more bold, irritable, and familiar. 
Watchful as dogs, a stranger no sooner shows himself in 
their vicinity, than they neglect all other employment to 
come round, follow, peep at and scold him, sometimes 
with such pertinacity and irritability as to provoke the 
sportsman, intent on other game, to level his gun 
against them in mere retaliation. At other times, stimu- 
lated by curiosity, they will follow you in perfect silence, 
until something arouses their ready ire, when the djay, 
djay, pay pay, is poured upon you without intermis- 
sion, till you are beyond their view. So intent are they 
on vociferating, that it is not uncommon to hear them 


244 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


busily scolding even while engaged with a large acorn in 
the mouth. 

Of their geographical limits we are yet uncertain. They 
were first found by Steller at Nootka; but they scarcely 
extend into Upper California, and hardly as far to the east 
as the most western of the true Rocky Mountain chains. 
A specimen, perhaps a straggler has however been collected 
in the table land of Mexico. They feed on insects, 
acorns, and the seeds of the gigantic pines which forma 
belt along the Pacific and the rivers of the Oregon Terri- 
tory. 

In the month of May, I found a nest of this species in a 
small sapling of Douglas’s Fir, on the borders of a dark 
and dense forest, and again some time after, a second nest 
with young, in an elevated branch of the same species of 
pine, on the border of a rocky cliff. On approaching the 
nest, which contained 4 eggs, of a pale green color, with 
small olive-brown specks, varied with others inclining to a 
violet hue, both the male and female flew at me with the 
utmost anger and agitation, deafening me almost with their 
cries and entreaties. But though I took only two of their 
eggs, I found next day that they had forsaken the nest, 
being too fearful and jealous of the intrusion to remain 
any longer in the same place. The nest, as usual, was 
bulky, made of interlaced twigs and roots, with a stout 
layer of mud, and lined with black root fibres. I saw the 
nest about 10 days previous to the time of taking two of 
the four eggs ; and on that occasion the female (probably) 
only followed and eyed me in silence. 


This species is more than 12 inches long. The crest, head, and 
neck deep brownish black ; the feathers on either side the front tipped 
with azure ; neck and upper part of the back lighter brown than the 
head, lower part of the back becoming light blue, as well as the rump 
and upper tail-coverts. Below, from the neck, blue. 4th, 5th, and 


ULTRAMARINE JAY. 245 


Gth primaries nearly equal and longest; outer wing-coverts and secon- 
daries blue, crossed with blackish lines. Wings blue, the secondary 
coverts and quills rich indigo and ultra-marine, narrowly barred with 
black. Tail slightly rounded, 53 inches Jong, of a deep glossy azure, 
with faint traces of dusky bars. Bill and feet black. 


ULTRAMARINE JAY. 


(Garrulus ultramarinus, Aun. 4. p. 456. pl. 362. f. 3. Garrulus sordi- 
us, Swains. Cyanocorax ultramarinus, Bonap. p. 27.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Not crested; bright azure blue; the back brown- 


ish; beneath whitish-grey; tail long and cuneate; front blue; 
vent white. 


Earty in October, on arriving in the forests of the 
Columbia, near Fort Vancouver, an establishment of the 
Hudson’s Bay Company, we saw in the same situations 
with Steller’s Jay the present species. Its habits are much 
like those of the Common Jay. It usually flies out to the 
tops of the lofty pines, jerks its tail and perches playfully 
on some extreme branch, where it utters at times, as if 
excited by petulant anger, a strong whoit, woit, woit, wort, 
after which expression it emits a sort of recognition-call 
at short intervals, twee, and sometimes a shorter ‘twee ’twee. 
When much pursued, it sits still in the concealing shade of 
the lofty branches on which it seeks refuge. It feeds on 
insects, acorns broken up, and probably pine seeds. They 
appear to associate in roving families throughout the fall 
and winter, like the other species, seldom if ever associa- 
ting with the more common Steller’s Jay, though now and 
then perhaps in the same tree. It is a graceful, active, 
and rather shy bird, flying out straight from tree to tree, 
remarkable by its long tail and rather short wings; and its 


note is much less harsh and loud than that of Steller’s Jay. 
oi 


246 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


They breed in the dark pine woods, probably where we so 
frequently saw them alight, and on the 15th of June they 
were feeding their fully fledged young, two of which I 
pursued for some time, but they sculked so effectually as 
to escape me after a long and doubtful chase. The young 
had a predominance of grey on the back. The same spe- 
cies also extends into Upper California. This species is 
very nearly allied to the Florida Jay but it is larger, of a 
deeper blue in the adult male, with the front deep blue and 
the rump nearly quite white. It also inhabits a far more 
temperate region, being found at least to Frazer’s river 
and probably nearly, if not quite as far to the north as 
Steller’s Jay, though it migrates somewhat south at the ap- 
proach of winter. 


Length 12 inches. Above light clear blue, deeper on the head; 
back light greyish-brown, rump whitish; quills dusky, the 5th long- 
est; tail long and graduated, appearing faintly barred. A narrow 
white band over the eye; the fore-neck white, streaked with dusky, 
and bounded below by a broadish, rather interrupted semilunar band 
of dark blue, continuous with that of the neck. Below purplish-grey, 
white on the abdomen ; lower tail coverts white, scarcely tinged with 
blue. [Adult male.] Cabinet of the Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 


FLORIDA JAY. 


(Garrulus floridanus, Bonar. Am. Orn. ii. p. 59. pl. 14. fig. 1. Corvus 
floridanus, Bartram. Aupuson, pl. 87. Orn. Biog. 1. p. 444.) 


Spec. Cuaracr.—Not crested ; bright azure blue ; front white; the 
back brownish ; beneath whitish-grey; tail wedge-shaped. 


Tus elegant species is, as far as yet known, almost 
wholly confined to the interior of the mild peninsula of 
East Florida. In a tour through the lower parts of Geor- 
gia and West Florida, protracted to the middle of March, 


FLORIDA JAY. 247 


I saw none of these birds, and at the approach of winter, 
they even retire to the south of St. Augustine, as Mr. Ord 
did not meet with this Jay until about the middle of Feb- 
ruary ; from that time, however they were seen daily, flying 
low, and hopping through the luxuriant thickets, or peep- 
ing from the dark branches of the live-oaks, which adorn 
the outlet of the St. Juan. They appear to possess the 
usual propensities of their tribe, being quarrelsome, active, 
and garrulous. ‘Their voice is less harsh than that of the 
common Blue Jay, and they have a variety of notes, some 
of which, probably imitations, are said to have a resem- 
blance to the song of the Thrush, and the call of the 
common Jay. 

According to Audubon, the nest of this species is form- 
ed of a few dry sticks, so slightly interwoven as readily 
to admit the light through their interstices. It is then 
lined with fibrous roots. The eggs, 4 to 6, are of a light 
olive, marked with irregular blackish dashes. They 
raise only a single brood in the season. Their food is 
very similar to that of the other species, namely, berries, 
fruits, mast, and insects; it likewise collects snails from 
the marshy grounds, feeds largely on the seeds of the 
sword palmetto; and, in the manner of the Titmouse, it 
secures its food between its feet, and breaks it into pieces 
previous to swallowing. Like other species of the genus, 
it destroys the eggs and young of small birds, dispatching 
the latter by repeated blows on the head. It is also 
easily reconciled to the cage, and feeds on fresh or dried 
fruits, and various kinds of nuts. Their attempts at 
mimickry in this state are very imperfect. 


The length of this species is about 114 inches, and nearly 14 in 
alar extent. Head, neck above, and on the sides, with the wings 
and tail, bright azure. Front and line over the eyes bluish white. 
Black yellowish brown, with some blue on the rump; upper tail-coy- 


248 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


erts azure. Inner vanes and tips of the quills dusky. Below pale 
yellowish grey. From the cheeks and sides of the neck, the blue 
passes down along the breast, and forms a sort of collar. The wings 
scarcely extended beyond the coverts of the tail, which is partly wedge- 
shaped and about 54 inches long. The tail feathers indistinctly bar- 
red. The Ist primary as short as the secondaries, the 3d and 4th 
rather the longest. Feet and bill black. Iris hazel brown, — Female 
perfectly similar with the male, but a little less. 


CANADA JAY. 


(Garrulus canadensis, Swains. and Ricwarps. Fauna Boreali. 
Amer. pl. ii. p. 295. Avp. pl. 107. Perisoreus canadensis, Bonar. 
p- 27, [adult]. Garrulus brachyrhynchus, Swainxs. and Ricu. North. 
Zool. 2. p. 296. pl. 55. [young] Corvus canadensis, Lix. Witson, 
iii. p. 33. pl. 21. fig. 1.) 

Sp. Cuaracr.— Brownish grey; hind-head and nape black; fore- 


head, collar, beneath, and tip of the tail brownish-white ; tail 
wedge-shaped. 


Tuts species, with the intrusive habits and plain plum- 
age of the Pie, is almost wholly confined to the north- 
ern regions of America, being met with around Hudson’s 
bay, but becoming rare near the St Lawrence, and in 
winter only straggling along the coast as far as Nova 
Scotia. Westward, occasionally driven by the severity 
of the weather and failure of food, they make their ap- 
pearance in small parties in the interior of Maine, and 
northern parts of Vermont; where, according to Audubon, 
they are frequently known to breed. ‘They also descend in- 
to the state of New York asfar as the town of Hudson, and 
the banks of the Mohawk. In the month of May I obsery- 
ed awandering brood of these birds, old and young on 
the shady borders of the Wahlamet in the Oregon territory, 
where they had probably been bred. They descended to 


FLORIDA JAY. 249 


the ground near a spring in quest of insects and small 
shells. 

According to Mr. Hutchins, like the Pie, when near the 
habitations and tents of the inhabitants and natives, it is 
given to pilfering every thing within reach, and is some- 
times so bold as to venture into the tents, and snatch the 
meat from the dishes, even whether fresh or salt. It has 
also the mischievous sagacity of watching the hunters set 
their traps for the Martin, from which it purloins the bait. 
Its appetite, like that of the Crow, appears omnivorous. 
It feeds on worms, various insects, and their larve, and on 
flesh of different kinds; lays up stores of berries in hollow 
trees for winter; and, at times, with the Rein-deer, is 
driven to the necessity of feeding on Lichens. The severe 
winters of the deserts he inhabits, urges him to seek sup- 
port in the vicinity of habitations. Like the common Jay, 
at this season, he leaves his native woods to make excur- 
sions after food, trying every means for subsistence ; and, 
tamed by hunger, he seeks boldly the society of men and 
animals. ‘They are such praters as to be considered 
Mocking-birds, and perhaps superstitiously dreaded by the 
aborigines. ‘hey commonly fly in pairs or rove in small 
families, are no way difficult to approach, and keep up a 
kind of friendly chattering, sometimes repeating their 
notes for a quarter of an hour at atime, immediately before 
snow or falling weather. When caught, they seldom long 
survive, though they never neglect their food. Like most 
of their genus, they breed early in the spring, building 
their nests, which are formed of twigs and grass in the 
Pine trees. ‘They lay 4 to 6 light greyish eggs, faintly 
marked with brown spots. ‘The young brood, at first, are 
perfect Crows, or nearly quite black, and continue so for 
some time. 

According to Richardson this inelegant but familiar bird 


250 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


inhabits all the woody districts of the remote fur countries 
from the 65th parallel to Canada, and now and then in se- 
vere winters extends its desultory migrations within the 
northern limits of the United States. Scarcely has the 
winter traveller in those cold regions chosen a suitable 
place of repose in the forest, cleared away the snow, light- 
ed his fire, and prepared his tent, when the Whiskey-Jack 
insidiously pays him a visit, and boldly descends into the 
social circle to pick up any crumbs of frozen fish, or mor- 
sels of dry meat that may have escaped the mouths of the 
weary and hungry sledge-dogs. ‘This confidence is almost 
the only recommendation of our familiar intruder. There 
is nothing pleasing in his voice, plumage or attitudes. 
But this dark sinister dwarf of the north is now the only 
inhabitant of those silent and trackless forests, and trust- 
ing from necessity in the forbearance of man, he fearlessly 
approaches, and craves his allowed pittance from the wan- 
dering stranger who visits his dreary domain. At the fur 
posts and fishing stations he is also a steady attendant, be- 
coming so tamed in the winter by the terrible inclemency 
of the climate as to eat tamely from the offered hand; yet, 
at the same time, wild and indomitable under this garb of 
humility, he seldom survives long in confinement, and 
pines away with the loss of his accustomed liberty. It 
hops with activity from branch to branch, but when at 
rest, sits with its head drawn in, and with its plumage 
loose. ‘The voice of this inelegant bird is plaintive and 
squeaking, though it occasionally makes a low chattering, 
especially when its food appears in view. Like our Blue 
Jay it has the habit of hoarding berries, morsels of meat, 
&c. in the hollows of trees, or beneath their bark. These 
magazines prove useful in winter, and enable it to rear its 
hardy brood even before the disappearance of the snow 
from the ground, and long before any other bird indige- 


NUT-CRACKERS. 251 


nous to those climates. Its nest is concealed with such 
care that but few of the natives have ever seen it. 


The Canada Jay is 11 inches in length, and 15 in extent. The 
tail is long and cuneiform. Interior vanes of the wings brown, and 
also partly tipped with white; plumage of the head loose and prom- 
inent. The drab of the under parts extends so as to form a sort of 
collar round the neck. The bill and legs black. Irids dark hazel. 
The sexes appear alike in color. 

Norte. This species is nearly allied to the Mocking Jay of Siberia 
(Corvus infaustus),and the two appear to form a gradual passage 
from the proper Crows to the Nut-crackers (JVucifraga of Brisson.) 


NUCIFRAGA. (Briss.) NUT-CRACKERS. 


Wirs the dill thick, stout, and straight, compressed at the sides, 
convex above, obtuse at the somewhat projecting extremity ; nostrils 
rounded, hidden by close setaceous feathers; tarsus scutellated; 3d 
and 4th quills longest; tail rounded of 12 feathers. 

Besides the present there is one other species in Europe, which 
lives upon fruits, nuts, acorns, pine-seeds, and insects. It has also the 
habit of hiding and losing its food like the Jay ; and dwells by choice 
in solitary mountainous districts, chiefly in pine forests, but does not 
penetrate farther north than the southern extremity of Sweden. Oc- 
casionally, when food fails, they descend for a short time to the 
plains, where they are taken in all kinds of snares, and destroyed 
without mercy by the proprietors of the forests, in consequence of 
their mischievous habit of hacking and boring the trunks of the trees, 
probably in quest of insects. They are said also to make their nests 
in the holes of trees; and to be even more noisy and garrulous than 
the Magpie. 


AMERICAN NUT-CRACKER. 


(Nueifraga Columbiana, Aun. vol. 4. pl. 362. Corvus Columbianus, 
Witson, iil. p. 29. pl. 20. fig. 2. Phil. Museum, No. 1371. Cabinet 
of Acad. Nat. Sciences, Philadelphia.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Brownish-grey ; wings and 2 middle tail feathers 
bluish shining black ; the secondaries white at the summits ; outer 
tail feathers white. 


pss OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


In our journey westward in the month of July, we first 
observed this curious bird in a small pine grove, on 
the borders of Bear River, which falls into the lake of 
Timpanagos, in the high table land of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, about 7000 feet above the level of the sea, and 
about the parallel of 42 degrees. In this mild season they 
were in all probability breeding; and it is curious to ob- 
serve how completely their habits and predilections agree 
with their European prototype. We again saw a consid- 
erable flock of the young birds early in August, in a lofty 
ravine, near the summit of the ‘ Three Butes,’ or isolated 
and very remarkable mountains, about 30 or 40 miles west 
of Lewis’s river, of the Shoshonee. ‘They appeared some- 
what shy, and were scattered through a grove of aspens, 
flying with a slight chatter, scarcely a caw, from the tops 
of the bushes and trees, to the ground, probably in quest 
of insect food. We never saw this species either on the 
lower plains or even the forests of the Oregon, or in any 
part of upper California. In fact, it appears never to de- 
scend below the mountain plains, and as Mr. Townsend 
remarks, has a constant predilection for the pine forests. 
My friend Mr. T., found the species afterwards on the 
Blue Mountains of the Oregon, in plenty ; he likewise re- 
marks, that its flight is very unlike that of the Crow, being 
performed by jerks, in the manner of the Woodpecker. 
At times, when sitting, it keeps up a constant scream in a 
very harsh and grating voice, and in an unvaried and 
rather prolonged tone. He also remarks that it breeds in 
the very high pine trees. 


Length about 12 inches; wing from the flexure near upon 8 in- 
ches; bill along the ridge 1% inches, the tip flattened and obtuse (ap- 
parently well suited for digging.) Toes and claws stout and large- 
No distinct bristles at the base of the upper mandible; 4th quill 
longest. Tail rounded, of moderate length. — Bill and feet brownish- 


TITMICE, 253 


black. Iris hazel. Above and below light brownish-grey, forehead, 
throat, fore part of the cheeks, and a space round the eye white, 
tinged with yellow. Wings black, glossed with blue. Tail pure 
white, excepting the 2 middle feathers, and the greater part of the 
webs of the next pair, which are black ; lower tail coverts white. 


Famity.— PARINA. ‘TITS. 


Tue bill short, stout, straight, compressed, conic and pointed. 
Nostrils, towards the base of the bill, half closed by a membrane, and 
covered by small incumbent feathers. The feet rather robust; legs 
naked ; the outer toes united, at least at the base ; hind toe and nail 
longest. Tail of 12 feathers. 

These are lively and active little birds, living in woods and on 
trees, frequently suspending themselves by the claws to the under 
side of the branches, and climbing up or down. They feed much on 
insects, and sometimes on fruits and seeds ; they breed chiefly in the 
holes of decayed trees; a few build very artful nests; they have 
many eggs. The voice is rather unpleasant. 


PARUS. (Liv.) TITS. 


Britt short, straight, strong, conic, compressed, entire, 
edged and pointed, having bristles at the base; the upper 
mandible longer, rounded above, and slightly curved. The 
NOSTRILS, at the base of the bill, rounded, and concealed 
by the advancing feathers. The tongue blunt and cleft, or 
entire and acute. Jeet rather large, the toes almost wholly 
divided ; the nail of the hind toe strongest, and most curvy- 
ed. Wings, the first primary of moderate length, or very 
short; the 2d much shorter than the 3d; the 4th and 5th 
are longest. — The female and young differ little from the 
adult. ‘hey moult annually; and their plumage is long 
and slender. 


These are familiar, active, and restless birds, of a peey- 
39) 


254 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


ish and courageous disposition, and great enemies to in- 
sects. ‘They move by short and sudden leaps and flights 
from branch to branch, suspending themselves readily in 
all attitudes. ‘They live in families, in woods or marshes, 
and approach gardens and orchards during autumn and 
winter. ‘They are strictly omnivorous, feeding on grain, 
fruits, insects and their larve, which they dislodge from 
every retreat, and in this pursuit sometimes injure, in some 
degree the buds of trees. They perforate seed-vessels, 
hard seeds, and even nuts and almonds, to obtain their 
contents; they likewise feed on flesh, and are fond of fat. 
Sometimes they carry their depredations so far as to pur- 
sue and attack sickly birds, even of their own species, 
commencing, like Jays, by piercing the skull, and devour- 
ing the brain. They are of a quarrelsome disposition, and 
often attack larger birds, killing the weaker, and are very 
resolute in defence of their young. They breed once 
a year, lay many eggs, in some species even 18 or 20. 
Their voice is commonly unpleasant, and their chatter 
monotonous. Their flesh is scarcely better than that of 
the Rook or Crow. They are readily tamed, and may be 
fed with cheese, nuts, and oily seeds. They inhabit. all 
climates, except that of South America. In many respects 
(as justly observed by the Prince of Musignano) they ap- 
proach the character and manners of the Jays. 


yy LN 
LZ ZL, 
ZW) 
Z*~7q \ WF 


Ze “a 
LZ LES Fx Ay, \ a 
=> EA 7 i, GES ~ a> SOs i} SS <= = 
aaa MN WY ~Se.S an \ NY hb SSS 
ge 5 ER) 
i A) » Sano” NY R 
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Wi Mp) "ZF em SS PLP) Y fj 
—~= Fa = iy, = AAG eS FES), aN PoS 78 
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TUFTED TITMOUSE. 


(Parus bicolor, L., Witson, i. p. 187. pl. 8. fig. 5. Avpuzon, pl. 39. 
Orn. Biog. 1. p. 199. Philad. Museum, No. 7364.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Crested; dark bluish ash-color ; beneath whitish ; 
flanks tinged with yellowish-brown ; front black. 


From the geographic limits of this species, as it occurs 
to me, I am inclined to believe, that the bird seen in 
Greenland may be different from the present; as it scarcely 
appears to exist north beyond the states of Pennsylvania, 
or New York. They are seldom, if ever, seen or heard 
in this part of Massachusetts, and instead of being more 
abundant to the north, as believed by Wilson, they are 
probably not known there at all. In the southern States, 


256 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


at least in winter and spring, they are very common, and 
present all the usual habits and notes of the genus. The 
numbers which I saw in the Southern States, from Janua- 
ry to March, would seem to indicate a migratory habit; 
but whether they had arrived from the northeast, or 
from the great forests of the west, could not be conjec- 
tured. 

The Peto, as I may call this bird from one of his char- 
acteristic notes, and the Carolina Wren, were my constant 
and amusing companions during the winter, as I passed 
through the dreary solitudes of the Southern States. The 
sprightliness, caprice, and varied musical talent of this 
species are quite interesting, and more peculiarly so, when 
nearly all the other vocal tenants of the forest are either 
absent or silent, To hear, in the middle of January, 
when, at least, the leafless trees and dark cloudy skies re- 
mind us of the coldest season, the lively, cheering, varied 
pipe of this active and hardy bird, is particularly gratify- 
ing ; and, though his voice on paper, may appear to pre- 
sent only a list of quaint articulations, yet the delicacy, 
energy, pathos, and variety of his simple song, like many 
other things in nature, are far beyond the feeble power of 
description ; and if in these rude graphic outlines of the 
inimitable music of birds, I am able to draw a caricature 
sufficient to indicate the individual performer, I shall! have 
attained all the object to be hoped for in an attempt at na- 
tural delineation. 

The notes of the Peto generally partake of the high, 
echoing, clear tone of the Baltimore Bird. Among his 
more extraordinary expressions, I was struck with the call 
of *whip-tom-killy killy, and now and then ’whip tom killy, 
with occasionally some variation in the tone and expres- 
sion, which was very lively and agreeable. ‘The middle 
syllable (tom) was pronounced in a hollow reverberating 


TUFTED TITMOUSE. O57 


tone. In a few minutes after the subject and its variations 
were finished, in the estimation of the musical performer, 
he suddenly twisted himself round the branch on which he 
had sat, with a variety of odd and fantastic motions; and 
then, in a lower, hoarser, harsh voice, and in a peevish 
tone, exactly like that of the Jay and the Chickadee, went 
diy-ddy-day-day, and day-day-day-day-dait ; sometimes 
this loud note changed into one which became low and 
querulous. On some of these occasions he also called 
’tshica dee-dee. The jarring call would then change occa- 
sionally into kai-tee-did did-dit-did. 'These peevish notes 
would often be uttered in anger at being approached ; and 
then again would perhaps be answered by some neighbor- 
ing rival, against whom they appeared levelled in taunt and 
ridicule, being accompanied by extravagant gestures. 
Later in the season, in February, when in the lower part 
of Alabama the mild influence of spring began already to 
be felt, our favorite, as he gaily pursued the busy tribe of 
insects, now his principal food, called, as he vaulted rest- 
lessly from branch to branch, in an echoing rapid voice, at 
short intervals, pet6-peto-peto-peto. ‘This tender call of 
recognition was at length answered, and continued at in- 
tervals for a minute or two; they then changed their quick 
call into a slower péto péto péto; and now the natural 
note passed into the plaintive key, sounding like que-ah 
que-ah ; then in the same breath a jarring note like that 
of the Cat-bird, and in part like the sound made by put- 
ting the lower lip to the upper teeth, and calling ’tsh’ vah, 
‘ts’ vah. After this the call of kerry-kerry-kerry-kerry 
struck up with an echoing sound, heightened by the hol- 
low bank of the river whence it proceeded. At length, 
more delicately than at first, in an under tone, you hear 
anew, and in a tender accent, peto peto peto. In the ca- 
price and humor of our performer, tied by no rules but 


Oo % 
ao 


258 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


those of momentary feeling, the expression will perhaps 
change into a slow and full peet-peet-a-peet-a-peet, then a 
low and very rapid ker-ker-ker-ker-ker-kerry, sometimes so 
quick as almost to resemble the rattle of a watchman. At 
another time, his morning song commences like the gentle 
whispers of an aérial spirit, and then becoming high and 
clear like the voice of the nightingale, he cries keeva keeva 
kéeva keeva, but soon falling into the querulous, the day- 
day-day-day-day-dait of the Chicadee, terminates his per- 
formance. Imitative, as well as inventive, I have heard 
the Peto also sing something like the lively chatter of the 
Swallow, leta-leta-leta-letalit, and then vary into péto-péto- 
péto-péto-peto extremely quick. Unlike the warblers, our 
cheerful Peto has no trill, or any other notes than these 
simple, playful, or pathetic calls; yet the compass of voice 
and the tone in which they are uttered, their capricious 
variety and their general effect, at the season of the year 
when they are heard, are quite as pleasing to the contem- 
plative observer, as the more exquisite notes of the sum- 
mer songsters of the verdant forest. 

The sound of ’whip-tom-kelly, which I heard this bird 
utter, on the 17th of January, 1830, near Barnwell, in 
South Carolina, is very remarkable, and leads me to sup- 
pose that the species is also an inhabitant of the West 
India islands, where Sloane attributes this note to the Red- 
eyed Fly-catcher, but it is now known to be the note of a 
tropical species, the vireo longirostris, and which our bird 
had probably heard and mimicked in its distant clime. 

The Peto, besides insects, like the Jay, to which he is 
allied, chops up acorns, cracks nuts and hard and shelly 
seeds to get at their contents, holding them meanwhile in 
his feet. He also searches and pecks decayed trees and 
their bark with considerable energy and industry in quest 
of larve; he often also enters into hollow trunks, prying 


TUFTED TITMOUSE. 259 


after the same objects. In these holes they commonly 
roost in winter, and occupy the same secure situations, or 
the holes of the small Woodpecker, for depositing and 
hatching their eggs, which takes place early in April or 
in May, according to the different parts of the Union they 
happen to inhabit. Sometimes they dig out a cavity for 
themselves with much labor, and always line the hollow 
with a variety of warm materials.* ‘Their eggs, about 6 
to 8, are white, with a few small specks of brownish-red 
near the larger end. The whole family, young and old, 
may be seen hunting together throughout the summer and 
winter, and keeping up a continued mutual chatter. 
According to the observations of Wilson, it soon be- 
comes familiar in confinement, and readily makes its way 
out of a wicker cage by repeated blows at the twigs. It 
may be fed on hemp-seed, cherry-stones, apple-pippins, 
and hickory-nuts, broken and thrown in to it. In its 
natural state, like the rest of its vicious congeners, it 
sometimes destroys small birds by blows on the skull.t 


This species is 64 inches long, and 9 in the stretch of the wings. 
Above, dark bluish-ash; the front black tinged with reddish. Be- 
neath sullied white, except the sides under the wings, which are pale 
reddish-brown. Legs and feet greyish blue. Bill black. Iris hazel. 
The crest high and pointed, like that of the common Blue Jay. Tail 
slightly forked. Tips of the wings dusky. Tongue blunt ending in 
4 sharp points. Female very similar to the male. 


_* Audubon, Orn. Biog. vol. i. p. 200. + Ibid. 


CHICADEE, or BLACK-CAPT TITMOUSE. 


(Parus atricapillus, Lin. Witson, i. p. 134. pl. 8. fig. 4. Philad. Mu- 
seum, No. 7380. Aun. pl. 353. fig. 3, 4.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Not crested; grey, tinged with brown; the head 
above and ridge of the neck as well as the throat pure black; 
cheeks white ; beneath brownish-white; tail 2 inches long; length 
54 inches. — In the female the black is less deep, and less apparent 
on the throat. 


Turis familiar, hardy, and restless little bird chiefly in- 
habits the Northern and Middle States, as well as Canada 
in which it is even resident in winter around Hudson’s 
Bay, and has been met with at 62° on the North-west 
Coast. In all the Northern and Middle States, during 
autumn and winter, families of these birds are seen chat- 
tering and roving through the woods, busily engaged in 
gleaning their multifarious food, along with the preceding 
species, Nuthatches, and Creepers, the whole forming a 
busy, active, and noisy group, whose manners, food, and 
habits bring them together in a common pursuit. Their 
diet varies with the season, for besides insects, their larve, 


CHICADEE, OR BLACK-CAPT TITMOUSE. 261 


and eggs, of which they are more particularly fond, in the 
month of September they leave the woods and assemble 
familiarly in our orchards and gardens, and even enter the 
thronging cities in quest of that support which their native 
forests now deny them. Large seeds of many kinds, par- 
ticularly those which are oily, as the Sun-flower, and Pine 
and Spruce Kernels are now sought after. ‘These seeds, 
in the usual manner of the genus, are seized in the claws 
and held against the branch, until picked open by the bill 
to obtain their contents. Fat of various kinds is also 
greedily eaten, and they regularly watch the retreat of the 
hog-killers, in the country, to glean up the fragments of 
meat which adhere to the places where the carcases have 
been suspended. At times they feed upon the wax of the 
Candle-berry Myrtle (Myrica cerifera) ; they likewise pick 
up crumbs near the houses, and search the weather-boards, 
and even the window-sills, familiarly for their lurking prey, 
and are particularly fond of spiders and the eggs of de- 
structive moths, especially those of the canker-worm, 
which they greedily destroy in all its stages of existence. 
It is said that they sometimes attack their own species 
when the individual is sickly, and aim their blows at the 
skull with a view to eat the brain; but this barbarity I 
have never witnessed. In winter, when satisfied, they will 
descend to the snow-bank beneath and quench their thirst 
by swallowing small pieces; in this way, their various and 
frugal meal is always easily supplied; and hardy, and 
warmly clad in light and very downy feathers, they suffer 
little inconvenience from the inclemency of the seasons. 
Indeed in the winter, or about the close of October, they 
at times appear so enlivened as already to show their amo- 
rous attachment, like our domestic cock, the male approach- 
ing his mate with fluttering and vibrating wings; and in 
the spring season, the males have obstinate engagements, 


262 - OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


darting after each other with great velocity and anger. 
Their roost is in the hollows of decayed trees, where they 
also breed, making a soft nest of moss, hair, and feathers, 
and laying from 6 to 12 eggs, which are white, with specks 
of brown-red. They begin to lay about the middle or 
close of April, and though they commonly make use of 
natural or deserted holes of the Woodpecker, yet at times, 
they are said to excavate a cavity for themselves with much 
labor. The first brood take wing about the 7th or 10th of 
June, and they have sometimes a second towards the end 
of July. The young, as soon as fledged, have all the ex- 
ternal marks of the adult, the head is equally black, and 
they chatter and skip about, with all the agility and self- 
possession of their parents, who appear nevertheless very 
solicitous for their safety. From this time the whole fam- 
ily continue to associate together through the autumn and 
winter. They seem to move by concert from tree to tree, 
keeping up a continued ’tshe-de-de-de-de, and ’tshe-de-de-de- 
dait, preceded by a shrill whistle, all the while busily en- 
gaged, picking round the buds and branches, hanging 
from their extremities and proceeding often in reversed 
postures, head downwards, like so many tumblers, prying 
into every crevice of the bark, and searching around the 
roots, and in every possible retreat of their insect prey or 
its larve. If the object chance to fall, they industriously 
descend to the ground and glean it up with the utmost 
economy. 

On seeing a cat, or other object of natural antipathy, 
the Chicadee, like the peevish Jay, scolds in a loud, angry, 
and hoarse note, like ’tshe ddigh daigh daigh. Among 
the other notes of this species, I have heard a call like 
tshe-de-jay, tshe-de-jay, the two first syllables being a slen- 
der chirp, with the jay strongly pronounced. Almost the 
only note of this bird which may be called a song, is one 


CHICADEE, OR BLACK-CAPT TITMOUSE, 263 


which is frequently heard at intervals in the depth of the 
forest, at times of the day usually when all other birds are 
silent. We then may sometimes hear in the midst of this 
solitude two feeble, drawling, clearly whistled, and rather 
melancholy notes, like ’te-dérry, and sometimes ’ye-pérrit, 
and occasionally, but much more rarely, in the same wiry, 
whistling, solemn tone, ’péhbé. The young, in winter, 
also sometimes drawl out these contemplative strains. In 
all cases, the first syllable is very high and clear, the second 
word drops low, and ends like a feeble plaint. This is 
nearly all the quaint song ever attempted by the Chicadee; 
and is perhaps the two notes sounding like the whetting of 
a saw, remarked of the Marsh Titmouse in England by 
Mr. White, in his Natural history of Selborne.* On fine 
days, about the commencement of October, I have heard 
the Chicadee sometimes for half an hour at a time, attempt 
a lively petulant warble, very different from his ordinary 
notes. On these occasions he appears to flirt about, still 
hunting for his prey, but almost in an ecstasy of delight 
and vigor. But after a while the usual drawling note again 
occurs. ‘These birds, like many others, are very subject 
to the attacks of vermin, and they accumulate in great 
numbers around that part of the head and front which is 
least accessible to their feet. 

The European bird, so very similar to ours, is partial to 
marshy situations. Ours has no such predilection, nor 
do the American ones, that I can learn, ever lay up or 
hide any store of seeds for provision, a habit reported of 
the foreign family. In this fact, with so many others, we 
have an additional evidence of affinity between the Tit- 
mouse and Jay, particularly that short-billed section which 
includes the Garrulus canadensis, and G‘. infaustus. Even 


* Vol. i. p. 177. (Ist Ed.) 


264 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the blue color, so common with the latter, is possessed by 
several species of this genus. Indeed from their aggregate 
relation, and omnivorous habit, we see no better place of 
arrangement for these birds than succinctly after the Gar- 
ruli or Jays. 

Following the authority of Temminck and Montagu, I 
considered this bird the same as the European Marsh Tit- 
mouse. I have since seen the Bird of Europe in its native 
country, and have good reason to believe it wholly differ- 
ent from our lively and familiar Chicadee. Unlike our 
bird, itis rather shy, seldom seen but in pairs or solitary, 
never in domestic premises, usually and almost constantly 
near streams or water courses, on the willows, alders, or 
other small trees impending over streams, and utters now 
and then a feeble complaining or querulous call, and rare- 
ly if ever the ‘chicka dee-dee.’ It also makes a noise in 
the spring, as it is said, like the whetting of a saw, which 
our snever does. ‘The Chicadee is seldom seen near 
waters; often, even in summer, in dry, shady and secluded 
woods; but when the whether becomes cold, and as early 
as October, roving families pressed by necessity and the 
failure of their ordinary insect fare, now begin to frequent 
orchards and gardens, appearing extremely familiar, hun- 
gry, indigent, but industrious, prying with restless anxiety 
into every cranny of the bark or holes in decayed trees 
after dormant insects, spiders and larve, descending with 
the strictest economy to the ground in quest of every stray 
morsel of provision which happens to fall from their grasp. 
Their quaint notes and jingling warble are heard even in 
winter on fine days when the weather relaxes in its sever- 
ity ; and in short, instead of being the river hermit of its 
European analogue: it adds by its presence, indomitable 
action, and chatter, an air of cheerfulness to the silent and 
dreary winters of the coldest parts of America. Dr. Rich- 


CAROLINA TITMOUSE. 265 


ardson found it in the fur countries up to the 65th parallel, 
where it even contrives to dwell, as in other parts of the 
continent, throughout the whole year. 

Besides other differences, the European bird is one inch 
shorter than ours: the bill does not appear to be perfectly 
black ; the black not extending so far below the chin; and 
the back not so distinctly bluish-ash. 


The Chicadee is 53 inches in length, and &4 in alar extent. The 
throat, head, and ridge of the neck black. Cheeks, ears to the nape, 
and a line to the base of the bill, white. Above cinereous, tinted 
with brown. The wings darker, edged with whitish. Secondaries 
broadly margined with white. Beneath, the rest of the plumage is 
white, tinted with greyish-brown, particularly on the sides. The bill 
black. Tongue blunt. Legs bluish-grey. Iris dark hazel. The 
sexes and young, to me, are hardly distinguishable apart. I have 
never seen the young with brown heads; they have the head quite 
black from the time they leave the nest. 


CAROLINA TITMOUSE. 


(Parus carolinensis, Aup. Orn. Biog. 2. p. 341. pl. 160. Bonar. Birds 
of Europe and Am. p. 20.) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Not crested ; grey, somewhat tinged with brown; 
the head above and ridge of the neck as well as the throat pure 
black ; cheeks white, beneath brownish-white ; length 44 inches; 
tail 2 inches long. — In the female the black is less deep. 


Tuts species, detected by Mr. Audubon, is a constant 
inhabitant of the southern and middle states from the bor- 
ders of New Jersey to East Florida. It has a predilection 
for the borders of ponds, marshes and swamps, and less 
gregarious than the preceding, seldom more than a pair or 
family are seen together. It is also shy and retiring ; inhab- 
iting at all times a mild and genial clime, it never seeks 
out domestic premises, nor even the way-sides, but like 

23 


266 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the European Marsh Titmouse,* it remains throughout the 
year in the tangled woods and swamps which gave it birth. 
In the wilds of Oregon, late in autumn we frequently saw 
small roving restless flocks of these birds associated often 
with the Chesnut Backed? species; at such times both 
parties were querulous and noisy, but the tshe te de de is 
comparatively feeble, uttered in a slender wiry tone; at 
such times intently gleaning for insects, they show very 
little fear, but a good deal of sympathy for their wounded 
companions, remaining round them and scolding in a pet- 
ulant and plaintive tone. At the approach of winter those 
in the Atlantic region retire farther to the south, and on 
the Pacific border they are to be seen in winter in the 
woods of upper California; but in no instance did we see 
them approach the vicinity of the trading posts or the gar- 
dens. 

A nest of this species discovered by Dr. Bachman, was 
in a hollow stump, about 4 feet from the ground; it was 
rather shallow, composed of fine wool, cotton, and some 
fibres of plants, the whole fitted together so as to be of an 
uniform thickness throughout and contained pure white 
eggs. 

Very nearly allied to the preceding but smaller, the grey of the 


back is also purer; the white edgings of the wings are also less con- 
spicuous. 


HUDSONIAN TITMOUSE. 


(Parus Hudsonicus, Forster, Phil. Transact. Ixii. p. 408— 430. 
Latuam. Ind. ii. p. 557. Avup. pl. 194. Penn. Arct. Zool. vol. 
ii, No. 329.) 

Spec. Caaract.— With the head and nape greyish rusty brown ; the 
back brownish ash color; below greyish white ; a white line be- 
neath each eye. 


* Parus palustris. ¢ Parus rufescens. 


CHESNUT-BACKED TITMOUSE. 267 


Turis more than usually hardy species continues the 
whole year about Severn river, braving the inclemency of 
the winters, and frequents the juniper bushes, on the buds 
of which it feeds. In winter, like the common species, 
they are seen roving about in small flocks, busily foraging 
from tree to tree. It is said to lay 5 eggs. Mr. Audubon met 
with it on the coast of Labrador, where it was breeding, 
about the middle of July, He describes the nest as being 
placed at the height of not more than three feet from the 
ground, in the hollow of a decayed low stump, scarcely 
thicker than a man’s leg, the whole so rotten that it 
crumbled to pieces on being touched. It was shaped like 
a purse, eight inches in depth, two in diameter inside, its 
sides about a half an inch thick. It was composed of the 
finest fur of different gquadrupeds, so thickly matted 
throughout, that it looked as if it had been felted by the 
hand of man. On the nest being assailed, the male flew 
at the intruder uttering an angry ¢e-te-te-tee. 


Length 5 inches; extent of wings 7; wings and relative lengths 
of the quills as in the P. atricapillus, Tail long and much rounded. 
Bill black; feet lead color. Above plumbeous, tinged faintly with 
brown; head umber brown; throat and fore-neck deep black, that 
color separated from the brown of the head by a broad band of white 
running under the eye. Below greyish-white, the sides yellowish- 
brown. —In the female the upper parts are deeply tinged with brown, 
and the head and throat are of a lighter tint. — The young above dull 
greenish-grey ; throat as in the adult, below pale greyish, tinged with 
brown. 


CHESNUT-BACKED TITMOUSE. 


(Parus rufescens, TownsEenp, Journ. Acad, N. Sc. vol. 7. Avp. pl. 
303. Orn. Biog. vol. 4. p. 371.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Head, throat, and upper part of the breast and 
back, blackish-brown ; back, rump and sides beneath the wings, 


268 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


bright chesnut, with a broad diverging band along the sides of the 
neck and below, white ; length 44 inches. 


The Chesnut-backed Titmouse is seen throughout the 
year in the forests of the Columbia, and as far south as up- 
per California, in all which tract it breeds, forming, as I 
have some reason to believe, a pendulous, or at least an 
exposed nest, like some of the European species, It is 
made of large quantities of hypna and lichens, copiously 
and coarsely lined with deer’s hair and large feathers, such 
as those of the Grouse and Jays. They are commonly 
seen in small flocks of all ages in the autumn and winter, 
when they move about briskly, and emit a number of 
feeble querulous notes, after the manner of the Chicadee, 
or common species, Parus atricapillus, but seldom utter 
anything like a song, though now and then, as they glean 
about, they utter a t’she, de, de, or t’dee, t’dee, dee, their 
more common querulous call, however, being like ?@she, 
dé, de, vait, t’shc, de, de, vait, sometimes also a confused 
warbling chatter. The busy troop, accompanied often by 
the Carolina species, and the Regulus tricolor, are seen 
flitting through bushes and thickets, carefully gleaning in- 
sects and larve for an instant, and are then off to some 
other place around, proceeding with restless activity to 
gratify the calls of hunger and the stimulus of caprice. 
Thus they are seen to rove along for miles together, until 
satisfied or fatigued, when they retire to rest in the recesses 
of the darkest forests, situations which they eventually 
choose for their temporary domicile, where in solitude and 
retirement they rear their young, and for the whole of the 
succeeding autumn and winter remain probably together in 
families. When the gun thins their ranks, it is surprising 
to see the courage, anxiety, and solicitude of these little 
creatures; they follow you with their wailing scold, and 
entreat for their companions in a manner that impresses 


CHESNUT-CROWNED TITMOUSE. 269 


you with a favorable idea of their social feelings and sym- 
pathy. 


Length 44 inches; wing from the flexure nearly 24 inches. Pro- 
portion of the wings and the relative length of the quills as in the P. 
atricapillus, and P. Carolinensis. Bill brownish-black; feet lead 
color. Head, neck, and fore part of the sides, chesnut, with a broad 
longitudinal band of white on each side, from the bill, beneath the 
eye, passing to the shoulder, and almost meeting on the back, which, 
with the rump is bright chesnut, as are the sides under the wings ; 
breast and abdomen white ; lower tail-coverts tinged with chesnut. 
Wings and tail brownish-grey, lesser coverts tinged with chesnut, 
the secondary coverts margined and tipped with greyish-white. 


CHESNUT-CROWNED TITMOUSE. 


(Parus minimus, TownsEnD, Journal Acad. N. Sc. vol. x. Avp, pl. 
353. fig. 5.6. Orn. Biog. vol. 4. p. 382.) 


Spec. Cuaractr.— Grey, beneath pale dilute-rufous; head greyish- 
chesnut ; tail elongated ; quill and tail feathers faintly edged with 
whitish ; bill very sharp, and slightly bent. 


We first observed the arrival of this plain and diminu- 
tive species on the banks of the Wahlamet, near to its con- 
fluence with the Columbia, about the middle of May. 
Hopping about in the Hazel thickets which border the al- 
luvial meadows of the river, they appeared very intent and 
industriously engaged in quest of small insects, chirping 
now and then a slender call of recognition. ‘They gen- 
erally flew off in pairs, but were by no means shy, and 
kept always in the low bushes or the skirt of the woods, 
The following day I heard the males utter a sort of weak, 
monotonous, short and quaint song, and about a week 
afterwards I had the good fortune to find the nest, about 
which the male was so particularly solicitous as almost un- 


wittingly to draw me to the spot, where hung from a low 
23* 


270 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


bush, about 4 feet from the ground, his little curious man- 
sion, formed like a long purse, with a round hole for en- 
trance near the top. It was made chiefly of moss, down, 
lint of plants, and lined with some feathers. The eggs, 6 
in number, were pure white, and already far gone towards 
being hatched. I saw but few other pairs in this vicinity, 
but on the 21st of June in the dark woods near Fort Van- 
couver, I again saw a flock of about 12, which, on making 
a chirp something like their own call, came around me 
very familiarly, and kept up a most incessant and queru- 
lous chirping. The following season (April 1836) I saw 
numbers of these birds in the mountain thickets around 
Santa Barbara, in Upper California, where they again 
seemed untiringly employed in gleaning food in the low 
bushes, picking up or catching their prey in all postures, 
sometimes like the common Chicadee, head downwards, 
and letting no cranny or corner escape their unwearied 
search. As we did not see them in winter, they migrate 
in all probability throughout Mexico and the Californian 
peninsula at this season. | 


Length 43 inches; wing from the flexure nearly 2 inches. Tail 
about 2 inches long. Wings short, very broad, Ist primary half the 
length of the second. Bill black; feet dusky. Upper part of the 
head and hind neck, dull greyish-brown; above brownish-grey ; 
wings and tail dusky brown tinged with grey ; below brownish-white ; 
sides tinged with rufous. — Female somewhat smaller, and somewhat 
paler. 


Famity. — AMPELINA. CHATTERERS. 


Not strictly omnivorous. Gregarious and sociable. Voice weak 
and lisping, just audible. 


WAXEN CHATTERER. Pavia ' 


BOMBYCILLA. (Brisson.) WAXEN CHATTERERS. 


Tur prix short, straight, and elevated: the upper man- 
dible slightly curved towards its extremity, and provided 
with a strongly marked tooth. Nosrrits at the base of 
the bill, oval, open, hidden by stiff hairs directed forwards ; 
the tongue cartilaginous, broad at the tip and lacerated. 
The feet with 3 toes directed forward and one backward, 
the exterior united to the middle toe. Wings moderate; 
the Ist and 2d primaries longest ; the spurious feather very 
suort. 

The sexes are alike, and both crested ; some of the tips 
of the secondaries are terminated by small red, oblong ap- 
pendages, like sealing-wax. ‘The plumage close, soft, and 
silky. They moult annually; live in numerous flocks ; 
and are given to wandering at all seasons, except the mere 
time necessary for incubation. In disposition they are 
simple and readily tamed, but do not long survive confine- 
ment. They feed chiefly on juicy fruits, and small larve 
or caterpillars; building in trees, and often laying twice 
a year; the eggs about 5. The genus composed of only 
3 species, one peculiarly American, the 2d common to 
Europe, Asia, and America, and the 3d in Japan. 


WAXEN CHATTERER. 


(Bombycilla garrula, Vertu. Bonar, Am. Orn. ii. pl. 16. fig. 2. Aup. 
pl. 363. Ampelis garrulus, Lin.) 


Spec. Cnaract. — Brownish grey ; head, except the posterior part of 
the crest, chesnut ; chin, frontlet, and line partly surrounding the 
eye, black ; belly cinereous; vent chesnut color; wings with two 
series of white marks. 


Tue Wax-Wing, of which stragglers are occasionally 
seen in Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, Long Island, and the 


Q72 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


vicinity of Philadelphia, first observed in America in the 
vicinity of the Athabasca river, near the region of the 
Rocky Mountains, in the month of March, is of common 
occurrence as a passenger throughout the colder regions 
of the whole northern hemisphere. Like our Cedar Birds, 
they associate in numerous flocks, pairing only for the 
breeding season; after which the young and old give way 
to their gregarious habits, and collecting in numerous 
companies, they perform extensive journeys, and are ex- 
tremely remarkable for their great and irregular wander- 
ings. The circumstance of incubation in this species are 
wholly unknown. It is supposed that they retire to the 
remote regions to breed, yet in Norway, they are only 
birds of passage, and it has been conjectured that they 
pass the summer in the elevated table land of central Asia. 
Wherever they dwell at this season, it is certain that in 
spring, and late autumn, they visit northern Asia or Sibe- 
ria, and eastern Europe in vast numbers, but are elsewhere 
only uncertain stragglers, whose appearance, at different 
times, has been looked upon as ominous of some disaster 
by the credulous and ignorant. 

The Waxen Chatterers, like our common Cedar Birds, 
appear destitute of song, and only lisp to each other their 
usual low reiterated call of zé zé re, which becomes more 
audible when they are disturbed, and as they take to 
wing. They are also very sociable and affectionate to 
their whole fraternity, and sit in rows often on the same 
branch, when not employed in collecting their food, which 
is said to consist of juicy fruits of various kinds, par- 
ticularly grapes ; they will also eat juniper and laurel ber- 
ries, as well as apples, currents, and figs, and are often 
seen to drink. 

Dr. Richardson informs us, that this bird appears in 
flocks at Great Bear Lake, about the 24th of May, when - 


WAXEN CHATTERER. pei 


they feed on the berries of the alpine arbutus, marsh vac- 
cinium, and other kinds exposed again to the surface after 
the spring thaw. Another flock of 3 or 400 individuals 
was seen on the banks of the Saskatchewan, at Carlton 
House, early in the same month. In their usual manner, 
they all settled together on one or two trees, and remained 
together about the same place for an hour in the morning, 
making a loud twittering noise, and were too shy to be 
approached within gun-shot. Their stay at most did not 
exceed a few days, and none of the Indians knew of their 
nests; though the Dr. had reason to believe that they re- 
tired in the breeding season to the broken and desolate 
mountain-limestone districts in the 67th or 68th parallels, 
where they find means to feed on the fruit of the common 
juniper, so abundant in that quarter. Neither Mr. Towns- 
end or myself observed this bird either in the Columbia 
river district, or on the Rocky Mountains. 


Length 84 inches; alar extent about 15. Anterior part of the head 
bay, passing posteriorly into reddish drab, which is the prevailing 
color above as well as on the breast. Lower part of the back and 
rump cinereous. Belly and femorals pale ash; vent reddish chesnut. 
Quills dusky, the Ist spotless, the 2d with a small mark of white on 
the tip of the outer web, which mark gradually increases on the fol- 
lowing feathers, forming a longitudinal spot which is much larger on 
the secondaries, 4 of which have the vermilion, wax-like appendages. 
Each feather of the bastard wing is also largely tipt with white, thus 
producing an additional spot of white; there is however no yellow 
on the wing. Tail 3 inches, black, broadly terminated with pale yel- 
low. Feet and legs black. Iris reddish. 


CEDAR BIRD, or CHERRY BIRD. 


(Bombycilla carolinensis, Briss. Bonar. Aupvson, pl. 43. [extremely 
fine and natural]. .4mpelis americana, Witson, 1. p. 107. pl. 7. fig. 
1. Philad. Museum, No. 5608.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Brownish grey, the crest inclining to rufous; 
chin, frontlet, and line over the eye, black; belly yellow, and the 
vent white; wings and tail dusky grey, the latter tipt with yellow. 


Tus common native wanderer, which in the summer 
extends its migrations to the remotest unpeopled regions 
of Canada,* is also found throughout the American conti- 
nent to Mexico, and parties occasionally even roam to the 


* Seen by Mr. Say near Winnipique river in latitude 50, and by Mr. Drummond 
on the south branch of the Saskatchewan, 


CEDAR BIRD, OR CHERRY BIRD. 270 


tropical forests of Cayenne. In all this extensive geo- 
graphical range, where great elevation or latitude tempers 
the climate so as to be favorable to the production of juicy 
fruits, the Cedar Bird will probably be found either almost 
wholly to reside, or to pass the season of reproduction. 
Like its European representative (the Waxen Chatterer), 
it is capable of braving a considerable degree of cold, for 
in Pennsylvania and New Jersey some of these birds are 
seen throughout the winter, where, as well as in the early 
part of the summer and fall, they are killed and brought to 
market, generally fat, and much esteemed as food. Silky 
softness of plumage, gentleness of disposition, innocence 
of character, extreme sociability, and an innate, inextin- 
-guishable love of freedom, accompanied by a constant 
desire of wandering, are characteristic traits in the physi- 
cal and moral portrait of the second as well as the pre- 
ceding species of this peculiar and extraordinary genus. 
Leaving the northern part of the continent, situated 
beyond the 40th degree, at the approach of winter, they 
assemble in companies of twenty to a hundred, and wan- 
der through the Southern States and Mexico to the con- 
fines of the equator, in all of which countries they are 
now either common or abundant. As observed by Audu- 
bon, their flight is easy, continued, and often performed at 
a considerable height; and they move in flocks or compa- 
nies, making several turns before they alight. As the 
mildness of spring returns, and with it their favorite food, 
they reappear in the Northern and Eastern States about 
the beginning of April, before the ripening of their favor- 
ite fruits, the cherries and mulberries. But at this season, 
to repay the gardener for the tithe of his crop, their natu- 
ral due, they fail not to assist in ridding his trees of more 
deadly enemies which infest them, and the small caterpil- 
lars, beetles, and various insects now constitute their only 


276 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


food; and for hours at a time they may be seen feeding on 
the all-despoiling Canker-worms,* which infest our Apple 
trees and Elms. On these occasions, silent and sedate, 
after plentifully feeding, they sit dressing their feathers, in 
near contact on the same branch to the number of 5 or 6; 
and as the season of selective attachment approaches, they 
may be observed pluming each other, and caressing with 
the most gentle fondness ; a playfulness, in which, however, 
they are even surpassed by the contemned Raven, to which ~ 
social and friendly family our Cedar Bird, different as he 
looks, has many traits of alliance. But these demonstra- 
tions of attachment, which, in a more vigorous kind, would 
kindle the feud of jealousy, apparently produce in this bird 
scarcely any diminution of the general social tie; and as 
they are gregarious to so late a period of the inviting sea- 
son of incubation, this affection has been supposed to be 
independent of sexual distinction. This friendly trait is 
carried so far, that an eye-witness? assures me he has seen 
one among a row of these birds seated upon a branch dart 
after an insect, and offer it to his associate when caught, 
who very disinterestedly passed it to the next, and each 
delicately declining the offer, the morsel has proceeded 
backwards and forwards before it was appropriated. What- 
ever may be the fact, as it regards this peculiar sociability, 
it frequently facilitates the means of their destruction with 
the thoughtless and rapacious sportsman; who, because 
many of these unfortunate birds can be killed in an instant, 
sitting in the same range, thinks the exercise of the gun 
must be credited only by the havoc which it produces 
against a friendly, useful, and innocent visiter. 

Towards the close of May, or beginning of June, the 
Cherry-birds, now paired, commence forming the cradle of 


* The caterpillar larva of Phalena. t My friend 8. Green, Esq., of Boston. 


WAXEN CHATTERER. 377 


their young; yet still so sociable are they, that several 
nests may be observed in the same vicinity. ‘The materials 
and trees chosen for their labors are various, as well as the 
general markings of theireggs. ‘Two nests, in the Botanic 
Garden at Cambridge, were formed in small hemlock * 
trees, at the distance of 16 or 18 feet from the ground, in 
the forks of the main branches. One of these was com- 
posed of dry, coarse grass, interwoven roughly with a con- 
siderable quantity of dead hemlock sprigs, further connected 
by a small quantity of silk-weed+ lint, and lined with a 
few strips of thin grape-vine bark, and dry leaves of the 
silver fir. In the second nest the lining was merely fine 
root fibres. On the 4th of June this nest contained 2 
eggs; the whole number is generally about 4 or 5; these 
are of the usual form (not remarkable for any dispropor- 
tion of the 2 ends), of a pale clay white, inclining to 
olive, with a few well defined black or deep umber spots 
at the great end, and with others seen, as it were, beneath 
the surface of the shell. T'wo or three other nests were 
made in the apple-trees of an adjoining orchard, one in a 
place of difficult access, the other on a depending branch 
easily reached by the hand. These were securely fixed 
horizontally among the ascending twigs, and were formed 
externally of a mass of dry, wiry weeds; the materials 
being firmly held together by a large quantity of Cud- 
weed down, in some places softened with glutinous saliva 
so as to be formed into coarse connecting shreds. The 
round edge of the nest was made of coils of the wiry sto- 
lons of a common Cinquefoil,§ then lined with exceedingly 
fine root fibres; over the whole, to give elasticity, were 


* Abies canadensis. L: t Asclepias, species. 
t Gnaphalium plantagineum. § Potentilla simplex. 


24 


278 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS, 


laid fine stalks of a slender Juncus or minute rush. In 
these nests the eggs were, as described by Wilson (except 
as to form), marked with smaller and more numerous spots 
than the preceding. From the lateness of the autumn, at 
which period incubation is still going on, it would appear 
that this species is very prolific, and must have at least two 
hatches in the season ; for as late as the 7th of September 
a brood, in this vicinity, were yet in the nest. Thé period 
of sitting is about 15 or 16 days, and while the young are 
still helpless, it is surprising to witness the silence of the 
parents, uttering no cries, nor making any approaches to 
those who may endanger or jeopard the safety of their 
brood; still they are flying round, and silently watching 
the dreaded result, and approach the nest the moment the 
intruder disappears. They feed the young, at first, with 
insects and smooth caterpillars, but at the end of the 3d 
or 4th day they are fed, like the old ones, almost exclu- 
sively on sweet and juicy fruits, such as whortle and ser- 
vice berries, wild and cultivated cherries, &c. A young 
bird from one of the nests described, in the Hemlock, was 
thrown upon my protection, having been by some means 
ejected from his cradle. In this critical situation however 
he had been well fed or rather gorged with berries, and 
was merely scratched by the fall he had received. Fed on 
cherries and mulberries, he was soon well fledged, while 
his mate in the nest was suffered to perish by the forget- 
fulness of his natural protectors. Coeval with the growth 
of his wing-feathers, were already seen the remarkable red 
waxen appendages, showing, that their appearance indi- 
cates no particular age or sex; many birds in fact, being 
without these ornaments during their whole lives. I soon 
found my interesting protegée impatient of the cage, and 
extremely voracious, gorging himself to the very mouth 


CEDAR BIRD, OR CHERRY BIRD, 279 


with the soft fruits on which he was often fed. The 
throat, in fact, like a craw, admits of distention, and the 
contents are only gradually passed off into the stomach. 
I now suffered the bird to fly at large, and for several days 
he descended from the trees, in which he perched, to my 
arm for food; but the moment he was satisfied, he avoided 
the cage, and appeared by his restlessness unable to sur- 
vive the loss of liberty. He now came seldomer to me, 
and finally joined the lisping muster-cry of tze tze tzé, and 
was enticed away, after two or three attempts, by his more 
attractive and suitable associates. When young, nature 
provided him with a loud, impatient voice, and ¢é-did, 
té-did, kat-tédid, (often also the clamorous cry of the 
young Baltimore,) was his deafening and almost incessant 
call for food. Another young bird of the first brood 
probably neglected, cried so loud and plaintively to a male 
Baltimore-bird in the same tree, that he commenced feed- 
ing it.’ Mr. Winship of Brighton informs me, that one of 
the young Cedar-birds, who frequented the front of his 
house in quest of Honey-suckle berries, at length, on re- 
ceiving food, (probably also abandoned by his roving pa- 
rents,) threw himself wholly on his protection. At large, 
day ahd night, he still regularly attended the dessert of the 
dinner-tabie for his portion of fruit, and remained stead- 
fast in his attachment to Mr. W. till killed by an accident; 
being unfortunately trodden under foot. 

Though harmless, exceedingly gentle, and artless, they 
make some show of defence when attacked, as a second 
bird which I brought up, destitute of the red appendages 
on the wings, when threatened, elevated his crest, looked 
angry, and repeatedly snapped with his bill. 

Almost all kinds of sweet berries are sought for food 
by the American waxen-wing. In search of whortle- 
berries, they retire in Pennsylvania to the western moun- 


280 OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 


tain chains of the Alleghany range; and in autumn, until 
the approach of winter, they are equally attached to the 
berries of the Virginia juniper,* as well as those of the 
sour-gum tree, and the wax-myrtle. ‘They also feed, late 
in the season, on ripe persimmons,7 small winter grapes, 
bird-cherries, the fruit of the Pride of China, and other 
fruits. The kernels and seeds of these, unin ured by the 
action of the stomach, are strewed about, and thus acci- 
dentally planted in abundance wherever these birds fre- 
quent. Like their prototype, the preceding species, the 
migrations, and time and place of breeding are influenced 
by their supply of food. In the spring of 1831 they ar- 
rived in this vicinity, as usual, but, in consequence of the 
failure of cherries, scarcely any were bred, and very few 
were either to be heard or seen in the vicinity. In this 
part of New England this bird is frequently known by the 
name of the Canada Robin, and by the French Canadians 
it is fancifully called Recollet, from the color of its crest 
resembling that of the hood of this religious order. 


The length of our bird varies from 73 to full 8 inches, so that at 
times it arrives at the full size of the European species. Head, 
neck, breast, back, and wing-coverts of a brownish-grey ; becoming 
darker on the back, and brightest on the front and elevated crest. A 
deep black line from the nostril over the eye to the hind-head, bor- 
dered above by a slender line of white; another line of the same 
color passing from the lower mandible. The chin black, gradually 
brightening into greyish brown. The belly yellow; vent white ; 
wings dusky-grey. Rump and tail-coverts dark ash-color; tail of 
the same color deepening into dusky, and broadly tipt with yellow. 
Six or 7, and sometimes the whole 9 secondaries of the wings cu- 


* Improperly called Red Cedar. 

+ In many parts of Georgia, and particularly the vicinity of Milledgeville, these 
trees are observed to spring up in whole groves on cleared or burnt lands, and this 
growth must undoubtedly be due to the dissemination produced by these birds, 


CEDAR BIRD, OR CHERRY BIRD. 281 


riously ornamented with small vermilion oblong appendages, resem- 
bling sealing-wax, which are a prolongation of the shafts; occasion- 
ally these processes also terminate some of the tail-feathers. Many 
of these birds are destitute of these singular ornaments, which an- 
swer no economical purpose whatever to the individual. The bill, 
legs, and claws are black. Iris blood-red. In the female, the tints 
are duller. 


ORDER “THIRD, 


INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


In these the pitt is either short, or of moderate length, 
straight, rounded, and weakly edged or pointed like an 
awl. The upper mandible is curved and notched towards 
the point, most commonly provided at its base with stiff 
hairs, directed forwards. The reet have 3 of the toes 
before, and one behind, all on the same level. The outer 
united to the middle toe at its base as far as to the first 
articulation. 

The voice of these birds is often agreeable and harmo- 
nious: all of them feed principally upon insects, particu- 
larly, during the time of reproduction ; berries also afford 
aliment to many of the species, but they are ordinarily 
only an accessory nourishment. They have often several 
broods in the year, and dwell in the woods and thickets, 
or among reeds and marshes, where they nest in single 
pairs. 


Famity — LANIIN 4. 


With the bill short or moderate, the tail of 12 feathers. — They 
feed on insects, at large; excel in musical powers; and their flesh 
is palatable. 


BUTCHER-BIRDS. 283 


LANIUS. (Lin.) SHRIKES or BUTCHER-BIRDS. 


Tue siti of moderate size, robust, straight from its 
origin, and much compressed, with advancing bristles at 
the base; the upper mandible rounded above, hooked, and 
acute at the tip, near to which, on either side, there is 
a small sharp tooth; the lower notched, and also toothed 
near the tip. Nosrrits basal, lateral, almost round, partly 
hidden in the hairs at the base of the bill, and half closed 
by a vaulted membrane. Jeet, with the tarsus longer than 
the middle toe; the toes entirely divided. Wings mod- 
erate, the spurious feather very short, and the 3d and 4th 
primaries longest. — The female and young of the Amer- 
ican species scarcely differ from the adult male. Some 
others have a partial moult a second time in the year. 

The larger species possess the courage and cruelty of 
birds of rapine. Their prey, which they seize and convey 
in the bill, consists, however, principally of large insects ; 
they often also attack small birds, for which they com- 
monly lie in wait on the high branches of trees; they hold 
their victim usually in one foot, and tear it to pieces with 
the bill. They fly precipitately and irregularly to short 
distances, and frequently move the tail. They defend their 
nests from the largest birds of prey with dauntless temer- 
ity; live in families; build in trees and bushes, and lay 
from 5 to 7 eggs. Their voice is loud and somewhat mu- 
sical, and they have a propensity for imitating the calls and 
notes of other birds. ‘They are found in all parts of the 
world; but in South America they are principally repre- 
sented by other allied forms. In habit they approach the 
birds of prey, have some relation at the same time to Mag- 
pies, and pass almost into the Flycatchers, Thrushes, and 
other small insectivorous birds, 


AMERICAN SHRIKE, or BUTCHER-BIRD. 


(Lanius septentrionalis, Gm. Bonar. L. excubitor, WiLson, i. p. 74. pl, 
5. fig. 1. Lanius borealis, Viertu. Aub. pl. 192. Philad Museum, 
No. 664.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Light slate-color, beneath white, undulated with 
pale brown; wings and tail black; tail feathers, excepting the 2 
middle ones, partly white; third primary longest; 4th, equal to the 
2d.— Female paler, with the band of black on the face obscure. — 
Young, greyish drab color, wing spot obscure, 3d and 4th primaries 
nearly equal, the 2d much shorter, with 4 of the middle tail-feathers 
wholly black. 


Tuis little wary northern hunter is most commonly seen 
in this part of the continent at the commencement of win- 
ter, a few remaining with us throughout that season. They 
extend their wanderings, according to Audubon, as far as 
Natchez, and are not uncommon in Kentucky, in severe 


BUTCHER-BIRDS. 285 


winters. In March they retire to the north, though some 
take up their summer abode in the thickest forests in Penn- 
sylvania and New England. The nest is said to be large 
and compact, in the fork of a small tree, and sometimes in 
an apple tree, composed externally of dried grass, with 
whitish moss, and well lined with feathers. The eggs are 
about 6, of a pale cinereous white, thickly marked at the 
greater end with spots and streaks of rufous. 'The period 
of sitting is about 15 days. The young appear early in 
June, or the latter end of May. 

The principal food of this species is large insects, such 
as grasshoppers, crickets, and spiders. With the surplus 
of the former, as well as small birds, he disposes in a very 
singular manner, by impaling them upon thorns, as if thus 
providing securely for a future supply of provision. In the 
abundance, however, which surrounds him in the ample 
store-house of nature, he soon loses sight of this needless 
and sportive economy, and like the thievish Pie and Jay, 
he suffers his forgotten store to remain drying and bleach- 
ing in the elements till no longer palatable or digestible. 
As this little Butcher, like his more common European 
representative, preys upon birds, these impaled grasshop- 
pers were imagined to be lures to attract his victims, but 
his courage and rapacity render such snares both useless 
and improbable, as he has been known, with the temerity 
of a Falcon, to follow a bird into an open cage sooner 
than lose his quarry. Mr. J. Brown, of Cambridge, in- 
forms me, that one of these birds had the boldness to attack 
two Canaries, in a cage, suspended one fine winter’s day 
at the window. The poor songsters in their fears fluttered 
to the side of the cage, and one of them thrust its head 
through the bars of his prison, at this instant the wily 
Butcher tore off his head, and left the body dead in the 
cage. The cause of the accident seemed wholly myste- 


286 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


rious, till, on the following day, the bold hunter was found 
to have entered the room, through the open window, with 
a view to despatch the remaining victim; and, but for 
timely interference, it would have instantly shared the fate 
of its companion. On another occasion, while a Mr. 
Lock, in this vicinity, was engaged in fowling, he wounded 
a Robin who flew to a little distance and descended to the 
ground ; he soon heard the disabled bird uttering unusual 
cries, and on approaching found him in the grasp of the 
Shrike. He snatched up the bird from his devourer ; but 
having tasted blood, it still followed, as if determined not 
to relinquish its proposed prey, and only desisted from the 
quest on receiving a mortal wound. ‘The propensity for 
thus singularly securing its prey, is also practised on birds, 
which it impales in the same manner, and afterwards tears 
them to pieces at leisure. 

From his attempts to imitate the notes of other small 
birds, in Canada, and some parts of New England, he is 
sometimes called a Mocking-bird. His usual note, like 
that of the following species, resembles the discordant 
creaking of a sign-board hinge; and my friend Mr. Brown 
has heard one mimicking the quacking of his ducks, so 
that they answered to him as to a decoy fowl. They also 
imitate other birds, and I have been informed that they 
sing pretty well themselves, at times, or rather chatter, and 
mimic the songs of other birds, as if with a view to entice 
them into sight, for the purpose of making them their prey. 
This fondness for imitation, as in the Pies, may however 
be merely the result of caprice. 

So complete, at times, is the resemblance between the 
Mocking-Bird (Mimus pollyglottus) and this species of 
Lanius, that it is difficult to distinguish them apart. I have 
lately heard one (November 10th, 1833), employed in a 
low and soft warble resembling that of the Song Sparrow 


WHITE-WINGED SHRIKE. 287 


at the present season, and immediately after, his note 
changed to that of the Cat-Bird. Like that pre€minent 
minstrel the Orpheus, he also mounts to the topmost spray 
of some lofty tree to display his deceptive talent, and 
mislead the small birds so as to bring them within his 
reach. His attitudes are also light and airy, and his grace-~ 
ful flowing tail is kept in fantastic motion. 

The parents and their brood move in company in quest 
of their subsistence, and remain together the whole sea- 
son. The male boldly attacks even the Hawk or the Eagle 
in their defence, and with such fury that they generally 
decline the onset. 


This species is from 10 to 104 inches in length, and 13 to 14 in 
alar expansion. Above, the adult is pale cinereous, with the sides of 
the head nearly white, crossed with a bar of black that passes from 
the nostril through the eye to the middle of the neck. Beneath 
sometimes nearly white, at other times inclining to dusky, and marked 
rather thickly with varied lines of a darker hue (each of the feathers 
marked with 2 or 3 of these rounding transverse bars). The wings 
are black, with a spot of white on the primaries just below their 
coverts. Rump and tail coverts light ash. Tail cuneiform of 12 
feathers (in the adult), the 2 middle ones only black (in the young 4), 
the others are tipt with white, and the outer pair nearly all white. 
The legs, feet, and bill towards its point, black. Iris bright hazel. 
In the specific character it will be seen that the young differs so much 
from the adult as to disannul the marks of specification. 


WHITE-WINGED SHRIKE. 


(Lanius elegans, Swainson, North. Zool. ii. p. 122.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Clear bluish-grey, beneath unspotted white ; front- 
let the same color with the head; a broad white band across the 
wing ; a slender and very cuneiform tail, entirely bordered with 
white : 2d quill longer than the 6th, the 4th longest; the tarsus 
exceeding the length of the bill. 


288 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


A specmMEeN of this handsome Shrike exists in the 
British Museum, to which it was presented by the Hud- 
son’s Bay Company. The particular district of its resi- 
dence and habits are unknown. It is readily distinguished 
by the great quantity of white on the wings and tail, the 
narrower tail feathers, longer tarsi, and less curved claws. 


Length 9 inches 9 lines ; tail 4 inches 5 lines; bill from the angle 
of the mouth 11 lines; from above, 8 lines ; tarsus 1 inch 2% lines. 
Head and body above clear bluish-grey; the tail coverts somewhat 
lighter ; exterior margins of the scapulars nearly white. The. lat- 
eral marks on the head, the wings, with the exception of the white 
parts, and the middle of the tail, pitech-black. The white band on 
the wing 14 inches broad, crossing the bases of all the primaries, 
from the 2d to the 10th, inclusive. The secondaries broadly tipt 
with white; their exterior margins, and the whole of their inner 
webs (with the exception of a black patch near the tips of the first 
two), also white. The first primary and the three tertiaries are black. 
The 2 central pairs of tail feathers very slightly tipt with white ; the 
2 next pairs broadly tipt with the same; the 2 outer pairs wholly 
white, except the shafts which are brownish. Below pure white, 
except the brownish tips of the quills and the centre of the tail. 
Bill and legs blackish; the lower mandible not pale at the base as in 
L. borealis. 


LOGGER-HEAD SHRIKE. 


(Lanius ludovicianus, Lin. Aupuson, pl. 57. [a fine group]. L. caro- 
linensis, WiLson, iii. p. 57. pl. 22. fig. 8. Philad Museum, No. 
557.) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Dark slate color; beneath white ; frontlet, wings, 
and tail black ; the tail-feathers, with the exception of the 4 middle 
ones, partly white ; 2d primary longest ; the Ist and 5th equal. 


Tis species, principally inhabits the warmer parts of 
the United States, residing and breeding from North Caro- 
lina to Florida, where I have observed it likewise in win- 


LOGGER-HEAD SHRIKE, 289 


ter. It was also seen in the table-land of Mexico by that 
enterprising naturalist and collector, Mr. Bullock, and my 
friend Mr. T. Townsend found it in the Rocky Mountain 
range, and in the territory of Oregon. According to Au- 
dubon, it affects the low countries, being seldom met with 
in the mountainous districts. 

Its habits are shy and retiring, and it renders itself use- 
ful, and claims protection by destroying mice around the 
plantation, for which it sits and watches near the rice 
stacks for hours together, seldom failing of its prey as soon 
as it appears. like most of the genus, he is also well sat- 
isfied with large insects, crickets, and grasshoppers, which 
like the preceding species he often impales. In the breed- 
ing season, according to Dr. Bachman, he has a song which 
bears some resemblance to that of the young Brown 
Thrush, and, though very irregular, his notes are not un- 
pleasing. At other times his discordant call may almost 
be compared to the creaking of a sign-board in windy 
weather ; he probably, has also the usual talent for mim- 
icry. ‘They begin to pair about March, at which time .the 
male frequently feeds the female, and shows great courage 
in defending his nest from the intrusion of other birds. 
The nest is, according to Dr. Bachman, usually made in 
the outer limbs of a tree such as the Live-Oak or Sweet 
Gum, and often on a cedar, 15 to 30 feet from the ground. 
It is coarsely made of dry crooked twigs, and lined with 
root fibres, and slender grass. The eggs, 3 to 5, are 
greenish white. Incubation is performed by both sexes in 
turn, but each bird procures its own food in the intervals. 
They rear two broods in the season. Its manners resemble 
those of a Hawk; it sits silent and watchful until it espies 
its prey on the ground, when it pounces upon it, and 
strikes first with the bill, in the manner of small birds, 


25 


290 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


seizing the object immediately after in its claws; but it 
seldom attacks birds except when previously wounded. 


The Logger-head Shrike is 9 inches long, and 13 in alar expansion, 
Above dark grey; the scapulars and line over the eye whitish. 
Wings black, with a small spot of white at the base of the primaries, 
and tipt with white. Forehead and sides of head included in a broad 
black band. Tail cuneiform, the 4 middle feathers wholly black (in 
the adult ? ), the rest more or less tipt with white, to the outer one, 
which is nearly all white. Below white, sometimes (according to 
age) marked with faint, waving, pale, dusky lines; the sides tinged 
with brown. Iris dark hazel. Bill and legs black.— The Female is 
somewhat smaller and darker. 


MUSCICAPINA. FLYCATCHERS. 


Iv these the BILL is of moderate magnitude, rather stout, angular, 
considerably widened and flattened towards the base, which is guard- 
ed with longish bristles ; the upper mandible is notched towards the 
end, and bent at the tip. The Nosrrits basal, lateral, rounded, and 
partly hid in the advancing hairs. Feet, with the tarsus of the length 
of, or little longer than, the middle toe; inner toe free, or merely 
united at the base; hind nail more curved than the rest, and larger 
than that of the middle toe. Wings rather long and somewhat sharp ; 
with the Ist primary very short, the 3d and 4th longest. 

These are, in Europe and North America, birds of passage, usually 
arriving late, and retiring earlier or later in the autumn. They sub- 
sist during summer almost wholly upon flies, moths, and other winged 
insects, which they catch on the wing. They walk badly, and scarce- 
ly ever descend to the earth after their food. In autumn they feed 
much on berries, of various kinds, (and here chiefly on those which 
are bitter or astringent.) They have generally but a single brood in 
the season ; they perch on the summits of trees, living in single pairs 
in the forest where they form their nests, often morning and evening, 
and sometimes nearly the whole day, taking a station near some stag- 
nant water, and flying to and from this perch alternately after hover- 
ing insects. The broad-lilled North American species are taciturn, 
or have only a few quaint, stridulous calls and cries, and form no at- 
tachment to those who feed them in a state of domestication, yet eat 


FLYCATCHERS. 291 


greedily ; these also have only one moult in the year. In another 
section, allied to Sylvia, the voice is melodious, and the moult of the 
male double, arriving in the spring ina more brilliant nuptial plu- 
mage. The young differ from the adult only during the first year. 
The shells and drier parts of insects, as well as the skins and seeds of 
fruits, are brought up from the stomach, and ejected by the bill. 


TYRANNUS. (Briss.) TYRANT FLYCATCHERS. 


Birt moderate, rather long, strong, and rounded, depressed, 
straight at the sides, widened and triangular at the base, notched and 
hooked at the point; mouth large; tarsus short, thin and slender ; 
wings short; Ist, 2d, and 3d quills longest. Tail more or less deeply 
forked, emarginate or equal. 

The larger species are unusually petulant, tyrannical and coura- 
geous, driving sometimes from the vicinity of their nests the most 
powerful birds of prey. They have but a single moult, and are either 
wholly destitute of song, or only utter a few quaint notes. 


SSs 


SA 


US 
NN 


KING-BIRD, or TYRANT FLYCATCHER. 


(Tyrannus intrepidus, Vie1tt. Bonar. Musicapa tyrannus, Briss. 
Bonar. Aupuson, pl. 79. Lanius tyrannus, Lin. WILsoN, il. p. 
67. pl. 13. fig. 1. Phil. Museum, No. 578.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Blackish, beneath nearly white; tail even, ex- 
tending far beyond the wings, black, tipped with white. — Adult 
with a scarlet spot on the crown. 


Tuts well known, remarkable and pugnacious bird takes 
up his summer residence in all the intermediate region, 
from the temperate parts of Mexico to the uninhabited and 


KING-BIRD, OR TYRANT FLYCATCHER. 293 


remote interior of Canada.* In all this vast geographical 
range the King-bird seeks his food and rears his young. 
According to Audubon, they appear in Louisiana by the 
middle of March, and about the 20th of April, Wilson re- 
marked their arrival in Pennsylvania in small parties of 5 
or 6; but they are seldom seen in this part of New Eng- 
land before the middle of May. They are now silent and 
peaceable, until they begin to pair, and form their nests, 
which takes place from the Ist to the last week in May, or 
early in June, according to the advancement of the season 
in the latitudes of 40 and 43 degrees, The nest is usually 
built in the orchard, on the horizontal branch of an apple 
or pear tree, sometimes in an Oak, in the adjoining forest, 
at various heights from the ground, seldom carefully con- 
cealed, and firmly fixed at the bottom to the supporting 
twigs of the branch. ‘The outside consists of coarse stalks 
of dead grass and wiry weeds, the whole well connected 
and bedded with cut-weed7 down, tow, or an occasional 
rope-yarn, and wool; it is then lined with dry, slender 
grass, root fibres, and horse-hair. The eggs are generally 
3 to 5, yellowish-white, and marked with a few large, well 
defined spots of deep and bright brown. They often build 
and hatch twice in the season. 

The King-bird has no song, only a shrill guttural twit- 
ter, somewhat like that of the Martin, but no way musi- 
cal. At times, as he sits watching his prey, he calls to 
his mate with a harsh ¢shéup, rather quickly pronounced, 
and attended with some action. As insects approach 
him, or as he darts after them, the snapping of his bill is 
heard, like the shutting of a watch-case, and is the cer- 


* Being seen by Mr. Say at Pembino, lat. 49 degrees, and by Dr. Richardson in 
the 57th parallel. 


t Gnaphalium plantagineum. 


25 


294 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


tain grave of his prey. Beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, 
and winged insects of all descriptions form his principal 
summer food. I have also seen them collecting the can- 
ker-worms from the Elm. ‘Towards autumn, as various 
kinds of berries ripen, they constitute a very consider- 
able and favorite part of his subsistence; but, with the 
exception of currants (of which he only eats perhaps when 
confined), he refuses all exotic productions, contenting 
himself with black-berries, whortle-berries, those of the 
sassafras, cornel, Viburnum, elder, poke, and five-leaved 
ivy.* Raisins, foreign currants, grapes, cherries, peaches, 
pears, and apples were never even tasted, when offered to 
a bird of this kind, which I had many months as my pen- 
sioner; of the last, when roasted, sometimes, however, a 
few mouthfuls were relished, in the absence of other more 
agreeable diet. Berries he always swallowed whole, grass- 
hoppers, if too large, were pounded and broken on the 
flour, as he held them in his bill. To manage the larger 
beetles was not so easy; these he struck repeatedly against 
the ground, and then turned them from side to side, by 
throwing them dexterously into the air, after the manner 
of the Toucan, and the insect was uniformly caught re- 
versed as it descended, with the agility of a practised cup- 
and-ball player. At length, the pieces of the beetle were 
swallowed, and he remained still to digest his morsel, 
tasting it distinctly, soon after it entered the stomach, as 
became obvious by the ruminating motion of his mandibles. 
When the soluble portion was taken up, large pellets of 
the indigestible legs, wings, and shells, as likewise the 
skins and seeds of berries, were, in half an hour or less, 
brought up and ejected from the mouth in the manner of 
the Hawks and Owls. When other food failed, he ap- 


Ae a eee ee 


* Cissus hederacea. 


KING-BIRD, OR TYRANT FLYCATCHER. 295 


peared very well satisfied with fresh minced meat, and 
drank water frequently, even during the severe frosts of 
January, which he endured without much difficulty ; bask- 
ing, however like Diogenes, in the feeble beams of the 
sun, which he followed round the room of his confine- 
ment, well satisfied, when no intruder or companion threw 
him into the shade! Some very cold evenings he had the’ 
sagacity to retire under the shelter of a depending bed- 
quilt ; was very much pleased with the warmth and bril- 
liancy of lamp-light, and would eat freely at any hour of 
the night. Unacquainted with the deceptive nature of 
shadows, he sometimes snatched at them for the substances 
they resembled. Unlike the Vieros, he retired to rest 
without hiding his head in the wing, and was extremely 
watchful, though not abroad till after sunrise. His tacitur- 
nity, and disinclination to friendship and familiarity in 
confinement, were striking traits. His restless, quick, 
and side glancing eye enabled him to follow the motions 
of his flying insect prey, and to ascertain precisely the in- 
fallible instant of attack. He readily caught morsels of 
food in his bill before they reached the ground, when 
thrown across the room; and, on these occasions, seemed 
pleased with making the necessary exertion. He had also 
a practice of cautiously stretching out his neck, like a 
snake, and peeping about, either to obtain sight of his 
food, to watch any approach of danger, or to examine any 
thing that appeared strange. At length we became so well 
acquainted, that when very hungry, he would express his 
gratitude on being fed, by a shrill twitter, and a lively look, 
which was the more remarkable, as at nearly all other 
times he was entirely silent. 

In a natural state he takes his station on the top of an 
apple-tree, a stake, or a tall weed, and betwixt the amuse- 
ment of his squeaking twitter, employs himself in darting 


296 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


after his insect food. Occasionally he is seen hovering over 
the field, with beating wing, almost like a Hawk, surveying 
the ground or herbage for grasshoppers, which are a fa- 
vorite diet. At other times, they may be observed in 
small companies flickering over still waters in the same 
employment, the gratification of appetite. Now and then, 
during the heat of summer, they are seen to dip and 
bathe, in the watery mirror, and with this washing, drying, 
and pluming, they appear to be both gratified and amused. 
During the season of their sojourn, the pair are often 
seen moving about in company, with a rapid quivering 
of the wings, and a continued tremulous shrieking twit- 
ter. Their energetic and amusing motions are most 
commonly performed in warm and fine weather, and con- 
tinue, with little interruption, until towards the close of 
August. 

One of the most remarkable traits in the character of 
the King-bird is the courage and affection which he dis- 
plays for his mate and young; for on his first arrival he 
is rather timid, and readily dodges before the Swallow and 
Purple Martin. Indeed at this season I have seen the 
spotted Sandpiper * drive away a pair of King-birds, be- 
cause they happened to approach the premises of her nest. 
But he now becomes, on this important occasion, so tena- 
cious of his rights as readily to commence the attack 
against all his feathered enemies, and he passes several 
months of the summer in a scene of almost perpetual con- 
test, and not overrating his hostile powers, he generally 
finds means to come off with impunity.; Eagles, Hawks, 
Crows, Jays, and in short every bird which excites his 
suspicion, by their intentional or accidental approach, are 
attacked with skill and courage ; he dives upon the heads 


* Totanas macularius. 


KING-BIRD, OR TYRANT FLYCATCHER. 297 


and backs of the larger intruders, who become so annoyed 
and tormented as willingly to make a precipitate retreat. 
He pursues his foes sometimes for a mile; and at length, 
assured of conquest, he returns to his prominent watch- 
ground, again quivering his wings in gratulation, and rap- 
idly uttering his shrill and triumphant notes. He is there- 
fore the friend of the farmer, as the scourge of the 
pilferers and plunderers of his crop and barn-yard. / But 
that he might not be perfectly harmless, he has sometimes 
a propensity for feeding on the valuable tenants of the 
bee-hive ; for these he watches, and exultingly twitters at 
the prospect of success, as they wing their way engaged 
in busy employment; his quick-sighted eyes now follow 
them, until one, more suitable than the rest, becomes his 
favorite mark. This selected victim is by some farmers 
believed to be a drone rather than the stinging neutral 
worker. The selective discernment of the eyes of this 
bird has often amused me; berries of different kinds, held 
to my domestic King-bird, however similar, were rejected 
or snatched, as they suited his instinct, with the nicest dis- 
crimination. 

As the young acquire strength for their distant journey, 
they may be seen in August and September, assembling 
together in almost silent, greedy, and watchful parties of a 
dozen or more, feeding on various berries, particularly 
those of the sassafras and cornel, from whence they some- 
times drive away smaller birds, and likewise spar and 
chase each other as the supply diminishes. Indeed, my 
domestic allowed no other bird to live in peace near him, 
when feeding on similar food, and though lame of a wing, 
he often watched his opportunity for reprisal and revenge, 
and became so jealous, that instead of being amused by 
companions, sometimes he caught hold of them with his 
bill, and seemed inclined to destroy them for invading his 


298 “INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


usurped privileges. In September the King-bird begins to 
leave the United States, and proceeds to pass the winter 
in tropical America. During the period of migration 
southward, Audubon remarks that they fly and_ sail 
through the air with great ease, at a considerable eleva- 
tion; and they thus continue their silent retreat through- 
out the night, until about the first of October, when they 
are no longer to be seen within the limits of the middle 
States. 


The King-bird (called also Field Martin in Maryland and the South- 
ern States) is about 8 inches in length, and 14 in alar extent. The 
general color above is a dark ash color approaching to black. The 
head and tail are nearly black, the latter tipped with white; the 
wings have something of a brownish umber cast. Upper part of the 
breast tinged with ash, the rest of the lower parts are pure white. 
The plumage of the crown, though even when the bird is at rest, can 
be, at will, erected, so as to form a rough crest ; below the black sur- 
face of which is seen a bed of scarlet inclining to orange, surrounded 
and based often with white ; this constitutes the crown of our feath- 
ered monarch. The bill is very broad at the base, and black. The 
legs and feet are also black. The iris hazel. The young birds re- 
ceive the orange on the crown the first season. 


OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, or ‘ PE-PE.’ 


(Tyrannus Cooperi, Bonar. T. borealis, Swatns. Muscicapa Cooperi, 
Nosis, Aup. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 422. pl. 174. MM. inornata, Nosis, 
Jour. Acad, Nat. Sc. Philad. in loc.) 


Sprc. Cuaract.— Dusky brown; head darker, without discolored 
spot; sides olive grey; lateral space beneath the wing white ; 
lower mandible purplish horn color; tail nearly even, and extend- 
ing but little beyond the closed wings; 2d primary longest. 


Tuts remarkable species which appertains to the group 
of Pewees, was obtained in the woods of Mount Auburn, 
in this vicinity, by Mr. John Bethune, of Cambridge, on 


OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, OR ‘ PE-PE,’ 299 


the 7th of June, 1830. This, and a second specimen, ac- 
quired soon afterwards, were females on the point of in- 
cubation. A third individual of the same sex was killed 
on the 2Ist of June, 1831. They were all of them fat, 
and had their stomachs filled with torn fragments of wild 
bees, wasps, and other similar insects. I have watched 
the motions of two other living individuals, who appeared 
tyrannical and quarrelsome even with each other; the at- 
tack was always accompanied with a whirring, querulous 
twitter. Their dispute was apparently, like that of sav- 
ages, about the rights of their respective hunting-grounds. 
One of the birds, the female, whom I usually saw alone, 
was uncommonly sedentary. ‘The territory she seemed 
determined to claim was circumscribed by the tops of a 
cluster of tall Virginia junipers or red cedars, and an ad- 
joining elm, and decayed cherry tree. From this sovereign 
station, in the solitude of a barren and sandy piece of 
forest, adjoining Mount Auburn, she kept a sharp lookout 
for passing insects, and pursued them with great vigor and 
success as soon as they appeared, sometimes chasing them 
to the ground, and generally resuming her perch with an 
additional mouthful, which she swallowed at leisure. On 
descending to her station, she occasionally quivered her 
wings and tail, erected her blowsy cap, and kept up a 
whistling, oft repeated, whining call of ’puz ’pu, then varied 
to pu pip, and ’pip pi, also at times pip ’pip "pil, ’pip *pip 
‘pip, "pu’pu pip, or ’tu,’tu ’tu, and ’tu ’tuz. This shrill, 
pensive, and quick whistle sometimes dropped almost to a 
whisper, or merely ‘pu. The tone was in fact much like 
that of the ’phu ’phu phi of the Fish Hawk. The male, 
however, besides this note, at long intervals, had a call of 
el’ phebéé, or ’h’phebéa, almost exactly in the tone of the 
circular tin whistle, or bird-call, being loud, shrill, and 
guttural at the commencement. The nest of this pair I 


300 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


at length discovered, in the horizontal branch of a tall red 
cedar 40 or 50 feet from the ground. It was formed much 
in the manner of the King-bird, externally made of inter- 
laced dead twigs of the cedar, internally of the wiry stolons 
of the common cinquefoil, dry grass, and some fragments 
of branching Lichen or Usnea. It contained 3 young, and 
had probably 4 eggs. The eggs had been hatched about 
the 20th of June, so that the pair had arrived in this vicin- 
ity about the close of May. 

The young remained in the nest no less than 23 days, 
and were fed from the first on beetles and perfect insects, 
which appeared to have been wholly digested without any 
regurgitation. ‘Towards the close of this protracted period 
the young could fly with all the celerity of the parents; and 
they probably went to and from the nest repeatedly before 
abandoning it. The male was at this time extremely 
watchful, and frequently followed me from his usual resi- 
dence, after my paying him a visit, nearly half a mile. 
These birds, which I watched on several successive days, 
were no way timid, and allowed me for some time, pre- 
vious to visiting their nest, to investigate them and the 
premises they had chosen, without showing any sign of 
alarm, or particular observation. 

The Tyran of Buffon, (vol. v. pl. 537,) or Pe pe re, ap- 
proaches near to this species both in size and color, but 
is distinguishable by the bed of yellow on the head, be- 
neath the surface of the feathers. The habits of both are 
very similar. The South American birds live in the soli- 
tude of the forest by pairs, nesting in hollow trees, or in 
the bifurcation of some branch, chanting forth their quaint 
pe pe re, about the break of day, which they announce 
with more precision even than our domestic cock. They 
are likewise very pugnacious in defence of their young. 
Muscicapa barbata of Cayenne, has also some affinity with 


OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, OR ‘ PE-PE.’ 301 


our species, and utters a pe pe, or somewhat similar note. 
(Vol. v. p. 277 of the same author.) 

My friend W. Cooper, Esq., so well known for his de- 
votion to Ornithology, received this bird likewise the 
preceding summer from the vicinity of Cape May, and 
Egg-Harbor, in New Jersey. The supposed young bird 
of the Crested Fly-catcher, cinereous above and white on 
the belly, mentioned by Pennant, might perhaps have been 
the present species. 

This bird appears to have been discovered in the fur 
countries about the same time as in the United States. 
According to Dr. Richardson, the specimen, figured so 
spiritedly in the Northern Zoology of Canada, was shot 
on the banks of the Saskatchewan as it was flying near the 
ground. 

In 1832, about the middle of June the same pair ap- 
parently had again taken possession of a small Juniper not 
more than 300 yards from the tree they had occupied the 
preceding year, about 14 or 15 feet up which they had 
fixed their thin twiggy nest as in the preceding year. It 
contained 4 eggs on which the female had commenced sit- 
ting ; these, except in their superior size, were precisely 
similar with those of the Wood Pewee, yellowish-cream 
color, with dark brown, and lavender purple spots, rather 
thinly dispersed. Being unfortunate enough to shake out 
the two eggs I intended to leave in the nest, the pair had 
to commence their labors of preparing for a progeny anew; 
and a few days after a second nest was made in another 
Virginian Juniper at a very short distance from the pre- 
ceding. The present year, however, they did not return to 
their accustomed retreat, and no individual was seen in 
this vicinity. In all places it appears, in fact, a scarce and 
widely dispersed species. Audubon has since observed this 
bird in other parts of Massachusetts, Maine, the Magde- 

26 


302 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


leine Islands, and the coast of Labrador. He has also 
seen it in Georgia and in Texas. This species is a common 
inhabitant of the dark fir woods of the Columbia, where 
they arrive towards the close of May. We again heard, 
at intervals, the same curious call, like ’gh-phebéa, and 
sometimes like the gutteral sound, ’egh-phebeé commencing 
with a sort of suppressed chuck; at other times, the note 
varied into a lively and sometimes quick p’t-petoway. 
This no doubt is the note attributed by Wilson to the 
Wood Pewee. When approached, as usual, or when call- 
ing, we heard the pu pu pu. 


The length of the Olive-Sided Pewee is about 64 to 7 inches. Like 
the rest of the family to which it belongs, it has a blowsy cap or crest, 
erectile at will; the color of this part is very dark brown, but with 
the hind head inclined to dark ash, which is the prevailing color of 
the back, The wings and tail are dusky brown, without any particle 
of white; the secondaries and their coverts edged with whitish ; the 
2d primary longest and the Ist and 3d equal. The tail emarginate, 
extending only about $ of an inch behond the closed wings. Bill 
very broad, nearly half an inch; rictus bright yellow, as well as the 
inside of the mouth and tongue ; the latter somewhat cordate and bifid 
at tip ; the upper mandible distinctly carinated, and black ; the lower, 
purplish horn-yellow, lighter towards the base. Chin white. The 
sides dusky olive, a broad line down the middle of the breast, with 
the abdomen and rump yellowish white ; a broadish white space on 
the side, beneath the wing towards the back, extending almost to the 
region of the rump. Legs and feet black. Irids dark hazel. This 
species, though of the size of the King-bird, is nearly related to the 
Wood Pewee, yet perfectly distinct. 


GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 


(Tyrannus crinitus, Sw. Muscicapa crinita, L. Witson, ii. p. 75. pl. 
13. fig. 2. Avp. pl. 129. Philad. Museum, No. 6645.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Greenish-olive ; throat pale ash; belly yellow; 
wing and tai] feathers ferruginous on the inner webs. 


GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 303 


Tuts species nearly unknown in New England, arrives 
in Pennsylvania early in May, and builds his nest in the 
deserted holes of the Woodpecker or Blue-bird. He also 
frequents the orchard, and is equally fond of Bees with the 
King-bird. He has no other note than a harsh squeak 
which sounds like ’patip, ’paip, paytp, *paywip, with a 
strong accent on the first syllable. He preys actively on 
insects which he collects from his stand; and, in short, 
has most of the manners and physiognomy of the whole 
section or family to which he belongs. The nest being 
formed in the hollow of a tree, the materials are conse- 
quently scant, but somewhat novel; being, according to 
Catesby and Wilson, a little loose hay, and large feathers, 
with hogs’ bristles, dogs’ hair, and pieces of cast snake- 
skins, the last of which, though an extraordinary material, 
is rarely wanting, its elastic softness forming a suitable 
bed for the young. The eggs are said to be 4, of a dull 
white, thickly marked with scratches and purple lines 
of various tints, as if laid on witha pen. The note of 
the male appears often delivered in anger and impatience, 
and he defends his retreat from the access of all other 
birds with the tyrannic insolence, characteristic of the 
King-bird. 

Towards the end of summer they feed on berries of 
various kinds, being particularly partial to Poke berries 
and whortle-berries, which, for a time, seem to constitute 
the principal food of the young. ‘They remain in Pennsyl- 
vania till about the middle of September, when they retire 
to tropical America. In July, 1831, I observed a pair in 
an orchard at Acton, in this state (Mass,) They had rear- 
ed a brood in the vicinity, and still appeared very station- 
ary on the premises; their harsh ’payup, and sometimes a 
slender twittering as they took the perch, were heard al- 
most from morn to night, and resembled at first the chirp 


304 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


of a young Robin. They fed on the caterpillars or vermin 
of some kind which happened to infest the apple-trees. I 
was told that it uttered a different and more musical note 
about sunrise, but of this I cannot speak from my own 
knowledge. They are unknown in the vicinity of the sea- 
coast of Massachusetts. According to Audubon they are 
found on the upper Missouri during summer. Many also 
pass the winter in the warmer parts of Florida. ‘They also 
breed in Texas. 


This species is 84 inches long, and 13 in alar extent. Above, the 
color is dull greenish olive; the feathers of the head pointed, and 
centred with dark brown, the whole forming a sort of spreading cap 
or crest. Wing-coverts erossed with two irregular bars of yellowish 
white. Primaries bright ferruginous. Tail slightly forked. Bull, 
legs, and feet greyish black. Iris hazel. The female is scarcely dis- 
tinguishable from the male. 


PIPIRY FLYCATCHER. 


(Tyrannus Dominicensis, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 25. T. matutinus, 
Vieitt. Muscicapa Dominicensis, Briss. Aup. Orn. Biog. 2. p. 
392. pl. 170.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Above ash grey; below greyish-white ; a small 
flame-colored spot on the crown; tail dusky edged with whitish, 
as well as the primaries. 


Tis fine tropical species was discovered by Audubon 
on the Florida Keys, where it arrives about the Ist of 
April, and spreads over the peninsula as far as Cape Flor- 
ida. It is common in Cuba and several other of the West 
India Islands. Stragglers, however, appear to wander at 
times, as far to the north as Charleston in South Carolina, 
a pair and their nest having been found in the College yard 
at that city, where they continued to return for several 


PIPIRY FLYCATCHER. 305 


years in succession, rearing two broods in a season. Its 
whole demeanor so much resembles that of the common 
King-bird, that but for its superior size and note it might 
be mistaken for that species. They flutter while flying, and 
sometimes during the breeding season, the pair crossing 
each other’s path, rise in spiral evolutions, loudly twittering 
as they ascend. When interrupted, alarmed by pursuit, or in 
quest of insects, they dart off with great velocity. Ifa 
large bird, as a Heron or Crow, or indeed any intruder, 
pass near their station, they immediately pursue it, and 
that often to a considerable distance: At the same time 
they appear careless of the approach of man, except when 
the nest is invaded, when they fly about in great anger, 
snapping their bills and loudly chattering, but when re- 
lieved from their unwelcome visitors, they return to their 
stand with notes of exultation. The nest, usually in a 
mangrove, much resembles that of the King-bird, being 
made of small sticks, and internally of a thin layer of fine 
grass or fibrous roots, the whole so thin as to show the 
eggs through it, which are about 4, of a white color, dotted 
abundantly at the larger end. They leave the Keys or 
small islands about the beginning of November. 


Length about 9 inches; alar extent 144 or nearly. Third quill 
longest. Tail rather long,emarginate. Bull and feet brownish-black. 
Above dull ash grey, shaded with brown posteriorly, a concealed spot 
of flame color on the top of the head, perceptible only when the 
feathers are raised. Coverts, quills, and tail-feathers dusky brown, all 
more or less margined with brownish-white. Below greyish-white, 
the breast and sides pale grey, the lower tail-coverts and lower wing- 
coverts tinged with yellow.— The female somewhat smaller, and the 
spot on the head paler. 

96* 


@ 


306 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


ARKANSA FLYCATCHER. 


(Tyrannus verticalis, Say. Muscicapa verticalis, Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 
18. pl. 2. fig. 2. Aun. pl. 359. f. 1, 2. Philad. Museum, No. 6624.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Head and throat ash ; a small orange spot on the 
crown ; belly yellow; tail blackish, the exterior feather white on 
the outer web. 


WE are indebted to Mr. Say, the well known naturalist, 
for the discovery of this recently known species of Fly- 
catcher, which appears to inhabit all the region west of 
the Missouri river. The specimen obtained, in the be- 
ginning of July near the banks of the river Platte, and 
only a few days’ march from the Rocky Mountains, was a 
male. 

In our journey westward, we first met with this bold 
and querulous species, early in July, in the scanty woods 
which border the north-west branch of the Platte, within 
the range of the Rocky Mountains; and from thence we 
saw them to the forests of the Columbia and the Wahla- 
met, as well as in all parts of Upper California, to latitude 
32°. They are remarkably noisy and quarrelsome with 
each other, and in the time of incubation, like the King 
Bird, suffer nothing of the bird kind to approach them 
without exhibiting their predilection for battle and dispute. 
About the middle of June, in the dark swampy forests of 
the Wahlamet, we every day heard the discordant clicking 
warble of this bird, somewhat like ¢tsh’k, tsl’k tshivait, 
sounding almost like the creaking of a rusty door-hinge, 
somewhat in the manner of the King Bird, with a blend- 
ing of the notes of the Blackbird or Common Grakle. Al- 
though I saw these birds residing in the woods of the 
Columbia, and near St. Diego in Upper California, I have 
not been able to find the nest, which is probably made in 


FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER, 307 


low thickets where it would be consequently easily over- 
looked. In the Rocky Mountains they do not probably 
breed before mid-summer, as they are still together in 
noisy quarrelsome bands until the middle of June. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Townsend, its flight is often Jong sustained, 
often fluttering and hovering in the air like the Common 
King Bird with which it associates. ‘The Indians also say 
that they are addicted to sucking the eggs of other birds, 
and sometimes also destroy the young. 


The length of this species is 9 inches, alar extent 154. The head 
above, and hind-head are pale lead-color. Beneath the surface of the 
crown there is a small bright orange spot, also a dusky space between 
the bill and the eyes. The lead-color of the back is tinged with olive, 
the rump and upper tail coverts approaching to blackish. Throat and 
upper part of the breast very pale plumbeous, beyond which all the 
under parts are yellow. The wings umber brown; the Ist primary 
narrow. Tail deep brown-black, very slightly forked; the exterior 
feather is white on the outer web. It is allied to the Muscicapa ferox 
of South America. 


FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER, 


(Tyrannus milvulus, Nowis. M. tyrannus, Bonar. p. 25. Muscicapa 
savana, Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 1. pl. 1. fig. 1. Aup. pl. 168. M. ty- 
rannus, Lin. Philad. Museum, No. 6620.) 


Sprc. Cuaract. —Cinereous; head black; a fulvous spot on the 
crown ; beneath white ; tail 10 inches long, extremely forked and 
black. 


Tuts splendid bird isa resident in the tropical wilds 
of Guiana, where it is said to be common, and was found 
also by Commerson near the banks of La Plata and in the 
woods of Monte Video. It is only a straggler in the Uni- 
ted States, from one of which accidental visitors, near 


308 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Bridgetown, in New Jersey, in the first week in December, 
was made the engraving which accompanies the account 
of this bird in Prince Bonaparte’s Ornithology. 

In its habits it resembles the other native species of the 
genus, is a solitary bird, remaining for a long time perched 
on the limb of a tree, from whence it occasionally darts 
after passing insects, or flying downwards, it alights on the 
tufted herbage arising above the partially drowned savan- 
nas, beyond whose limits this sedentary species but seldom 
strays. While seated, his long train is in motion like that 
of the Wagtail, and he now and then utters a twitter in 
the manner of the King-Bird. Besides insects, like our 
King-bird, he feeds on berries, and this individual had his 
stomach distended with those of the Poke plant.* South 
America affords two other species resembling the present, 
and equally remarkable for the singular length and fork- 
ing of the tail-feathers. 

According to Latham this species inhabits South Amer- 
ica from Surinam to Monte Video. It arrives in Paraguay 
in the middle of September, and departs in March, fre- 
quenting moist and shady woods near streams, is bold and 
quarrelsome in the breeding season. A nest supposed to 
belong to this bird, was large, externally made of earth 
and small roots, lined with a downy substance, and con- 
tained 3 young and one white egg, spotted brown and ru- 
fous. M. Nosada says, however, that several nests which 
he found were small, composed of leaves, and strips of 
bark, and that the eggs were white. 


The length of the Fork-tailed Flycatcher is 14 inches, its tail 
alone measuring nearly 10. The alar extent is also 14 inches. The 
upper part of the head and cheeks is deep black. The feathers of 
the crown are somewhat slender, elevated, of a yellow-orange, form- 


ee SE 


* Paptolacea decandra. L. 


SWALLOW-TAILED FLYCATCHER. 309 


ing a brilliant spot, only visible, however, when the crested cap is 
elevated ; the remaining part of the neck and back are greyish-ash; 
the rump is darker, and gradually passes into the black of the supe- 
rior tail-coverts. Beneath white. Wings dusky ; the first primary 
edged with whitish on the outer web, and equal in length to the 
4th ; the 2d longest; the 3 outer have a deep sinus on their inner 
webs near the tip, so as to terminate in a slender process. The tail 
is black and very deeply and widely forked ; the 2 exterior feathers 
10 inches, the 2 next succeeding only 5, and the other feathers be- 
come gradually and proportionally shorter, until those in the middle 
are scarcely 2 inches in length ; the long exterior tail-feather is white 
on the remarkably narrow outer web, and on the shaft beneath for 
nearly $ of its length. 


SWALLOW-TAILED FLYCATCHER. 


(Tyrannus forficatus, Nowis. Milvulus forficatus Sw. Muscicapa for- 
jita, Gu. Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 1. pl. 2. fig. 1. Aun. pl. 359. f. 3. 
Philad. Museum, No. 6623.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Light cinereous ; beneath white ; axillary feathers 
scarlet; tail greatly elongated, deeply forked, black, the outer 
feathers chiefly rosaceous. 


Tus very beautiful and singular species of Flycatcher 
is confined wholly to the open plains and scanty forests of 
the remote southwestern regions beyond the Mississippi, 
where they, in all probability, extend their residence to the 
high plains of Mexico. I found these birds rather com- 
mon near the banks of Red River, about the confluence 
of the Kiamesha. I again saw them more abundant, near 
the Great Salt River of the Arkansa in the month of 
August, when the young and old appeared, like our King- 
birds, assembling together previously to their departure for 
the south. ‘They alighted repeatedly on the tall plants 
of the prairie, and were probably preying upon the grass- 


310 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


hoppers, which were now abundant. At this time also 
they were wholly silent, and flitted before our path with 
suspicion and timidity. A week or two after we saw 
them no more, having retired probably to tropical winter 
quarters. 

In the month of May, a pair, which I daily saw for three 
or four weeks, had made a nest on the horizontal branch 
of an Elm, probably 12 or more feet from the ground. I 
did not examine it very near, but it appeared externally 
composed of coarse dry grass. The female, when first 
seen, was engaged in sitting, and her mate wildly attacked 
every bird which approached their residence. ‘This harsh 
chirping note of the male, kept up at intervals, as remarked 
by Mr. Say, almost resembled the barking of the Prairie 
Marmot, ’tsh ’tsh’tsh. His flowing, kite-lke tail, spread 
or contracted at will while flying, is a singular trait in his 
plumage, and rendered him conspicuously beautiful to the 
most careless observer. 


This fine bird is about 11 inches in length. The upper part of the 
head and neck is light grey; back and scapulars dark cinereous, 
tinged with reddish-brown ; the rump of the same color but inclined 
to black, upper tail-coverts deep black. Beneath milk white, the 
flanks tinged with red; the inferior tail-coverts pale rosaceous. 
Wings brownish black, the upper coverts and secondaries margined 
externally and at tip with dull whitish; under wing-coverts white, 
tinged with rose; axillary feathers above and beneath of a vivid 
scarlet. The tail very long and deeply forked, of a perfect black, 
each feather with its terminal margin of a dull whitish tint; the 3 
exterior feathers on each side are of a pale rosaceous color, on a con- 
siderable part of their length from their bases; the external one is 
54 inches long, the 2d and 3d decrease gradually, but the 4th is dis- 
proportionately shorter; from this feather there is a gradual decrease 
to the 6th, which is little more than 2 inches long. Bill and feet 
blackish. Irids brown. Female nearly similar to the male. 


SAY’S FLYCATCHER. 311 


SAY’S FLYCATCHER. 


(Tyrannus Saya, Nowis. Tyrannula Saya, Swatxs. Muscicapa Saya, 
Bonap. i. p. 20, pl. 2. fig. 3. Aup. pl. 359. f. 4, 5. Philad. Museum, 
No. 6831.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dull cinnamon-brown; belly pale rufous; tail 
nearly even; the Ist primary longer than the 6th. 


Tuts species was obtained by Mr. T. Peale, one of the 
naturalists of Major Long’s expedition, in the vicinity of 
the Arkansas River, about 20 miles from the Rocky Moun- 
tains, and has since been found, in the central alpine 
region of the continent from Mexico to Carlton House, 
one of the remote stations of the Hudson’s Bay Company. 
It strongly resembles the Common Pewee (MM. fusca.), 
having even the same note, but delivered in a different 
tone. Its nest, found in July, was built in a tree, and con- 
sisted chiefly of moss and clay, interwoven with a few 
blades of dried grass. ‘The young were just ready to fly. 

We first observed this bird, in our route westward, 
about the 14th of June, within the first range of the 
Rocky Mountains called the Black Hills, and in the vicin- 
ity of that northern branch of the Platte known by the 
name of Larimie’s Fork. At the time, we saw a pair 
perched, as usual, on a mass of rocks, from which, like 
the Pewee, though occasionally alighting, they flew after 
passing insects, without uttering any note that we heard; 
and from their predilection, it is probable they inhabit 
among broken hills and barren rocks, where we have 
scarcely a doubt, from their behavior, they had at this 
time a brood or a nest among these granite cliffs. They 
appeared very timorous on our approach, and seemed very 
limited in their range. Except among the Blue Moun- 
tains of the Columbia, we scarcely ever saw them again, 


312 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Their manners appear to be very much like those of the 
Common Pewee; but they are much more silent and shy. 


The length of Say’s Fly-catcher is 7 inches. Above, dull cinna- 
mon-brown, becoming darker on the head. Beneath, throat, and 
breast of the same dull cinnamon tint, gradually passing into the pale 
rufous of the abdomen; the under wing-coverts white, slightly tinged 
with rufous. The primaries dusky, tinged with cinnamon ; the Ista 
quarter of an inch shorter than the 2d, which is nearly as long as the 
3d; the 3d longest; the 4th and Sth gradually decrease, and the 6th 
is shorter than the Ist. The tail is scarcely notched and blackish. 
brown. The bill is remarkably flattened, the upper mandible black- 
ish, the lower pale horn-color below. The feet are also blackish ; 
and the irids brown. 


PEWIT FLYCATCHER. 


(Tyrannus fuscas, Nowis. Muscicapa atra, Gu. M. Phebe, Latu. M. 
fusca, Boxar. Avo. pl. 120. Orn. Biog. il. p. 22. M. nunciola, WiL- 
son, ii. p. 73. pl. 13. fig. 4. Phil. Museum, No. 6618.) 


PEWIT FLYCATCHER, 313 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dark olive-brown, darker on the head; beneath 
pale yellowish; bill black; tail emarginate, extending an inch and 
a half beyond the closed wings; the exterior feather whitish on the 
outer web. 


Tuts familiar species inhabits the continent of North 
America, from Canada and Labrador to Texas, retiring 
from the Northern and Middle States at the approach of 
winter. How far they proceed to the south at this season 
is not satisfactorily ascertained; a few, no doubt, winter 
in the milder parts of the Union, as Wilson saw them in 
February in the swamps of North and South Carolina, 
where they were feeding on smilax berries, and occasion- 
ally even giving their well known notes; but in the winter, 
and early spring of 1830, while employed in an extensive 
pedestrian journey from South Carolina to Florida and 
Alabama, I never heard or met with an individual of the 
species. Audubon found them abundant in the Floridas 
in winter. 

This faithful messenger of spring returns to Pennsylva- 
nia as early as the first week in March, remains till 
October, and sometimes nearly to the middle of Novem- 
‘ber. In Massachusetts, they arrive about the beginning 
of April, and at first chiefly frequent the woods. 

Their favorite resort is near streams, ponds, or stag- 
nant waters, about bridges, caves, and barns, where they 
choose to breed; and, in short, wherever there is a good 
prospect for obtaining their insect food. Near such 
places our little hunter sits on the roof of some out-build- 
ing, on a stake of the fence, or a projecting branch, call- 
ing out, at short intervals, and in a rapid manner phebé 
phebe, and at times in a more plaintive tone phee-be-ce. 
This quaint and querulous note, occasionally approaching 
to a warble, sometimes also sounds like pewait pewait, 
and then pé-wai-ee, also phebée phé-bee-ce, twice alternated, 

27 


314 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the latter phrase somewhat soft and twittering. In the 
spring this not unpleasing guttural warble is kept up for 
hours together, until late in the morning, and though not 
loud, may be heard to a considerable distance. Irom a 
roof I have heard these notes full half a mile across the 
water of a small lake; and this cheerful, though monoto- 
nous ditty, is only interrupted for a few seconds, as the 
performer darts and sweeps after his retreating prey of 
flies, frequently flirting and quivering his tail and ele- 
vating his feathery cap, while sharply watching the mo- 
tions of his fickle game. 

In the Middle States he begins to construct his nest 
about the latter end of March, in Massachusetts not be- 
fore the first week in April. The nest is situated under 
a bridge, in a cave, the side of a well 5 or 6 feet down 
under a shed, or in the shelter of the low eaves of a cot- 
tage, and even in an empty kitchen; sometimes it rests 
on a beam, though it is frequently attached to the side of 
a piece of roofing timber in the manner of the Swallow. 
The outside is generally made of a mixture of moss (/Zyp- 
num) and clay, and formed with considerable solidity ; 
inside it is lined with flaxy fibres, films of bark, wool, horse- 
hair, or only with dry grass. The nest is also sometimes 
made merely of mud, root-fibres, and withered grass. 
The eggs are about 5, pure white, without any spots. 

According to the touching relation of Wilson, this 
humble and inoffensive bird, forms conjugal attachments, 
which probably continue through life; for, like the faith- 
ful Blue-birds, a pair continued for several years to fre- 
quent and build in a romantic cave, in the forest which 
made part of the estate of the venerable naturalist, Wil- 
liam Bartram. Here our unfortunate birds had again taken 
up their welcome lease for the summer, again chanted 
forth their simple lay of affection, and cheered my aged 


PEWIT FLYCATCHER, 315 


friend with the certain news of spring; when unexpect- 
edly a party of idle boys, one fatal Saturday, destroyed 
with the gun the parents of this old and peaceful settle- 
ment; and from that time forward no other pair were 
ever seen around this once happy, now desolate spot. 

There attachment to particular places is indeed re- 
markable. About the middle of April 1831, at the Fresh 
Pond Hotel, in this vicinity, three different nests were begun 
in the public boat-house, which may be here considered 
almost as a thoroughfare; only one nest, however, was 
completed: and we could not help admiring the courage 
and devotedness with which the parents fed their young, 
and took their alternate station by the side of the nest 
undaunted in our presence, only now and then uttering 
a ’tship when observed too narrowly. Some ruffian at 
length tore down the nest, and carried off the brood, but 
our Pewit immediately commenced a new fabric, laid 5 
additional eggs in the same place with the first; and, in 
haste to finish their habitation, lined it with the silvery 
shreds of a Manilla rope, which they discovered in the 
contiguous loft over the boat-house. For several previous 
seasons they had taken up their abode in this vicinity, and 
seemed unwilling to remove from the neighborhood they 
had once chosen in spite of the most untoward circum- 
stances. In two other instances, I have known a pair, 
when the nest and eggs were taken by some mischievous 
boys, commence a new nest in the same place, and laying 
a smaller number of eggs, raised a second brood. In one 
of those nests under a bridge, the insidious Cow Bird had 
also dropped his parasitic egg. 

Towards the time of their departure for the south, 
which is about the middle of October, they are silent, and 
previously utter their notes more seldom, as if mourning 
the decay of nature, and anticipating the approaching 


316 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


famine which now urges their migration. In the middle 
States they raise two broods in the season, but in Massa- 
chusetts the Pewit rarely raises more than a single brood, 
unless, as in the instance related, they have had the mis- 
fortune to lose the first hatch. The young, dispersed 
through the woods in small numbers, may now and then 
be heard to the close of September, exercising their feeble 
voices in a guttural phébé. But the old birds are almost 
wholly silent, or but little heard, as they flit timidly through 
the woods, when once released from the cares of rearing 
their infant brood; so that here the Phebe’s note is almost 
a concomitant of spring and the mildest opening of sum- 
mer ; it is, indeed, much more vigorous in April and May 
than at any succeeding period. 


The Pewee is 7 inches in length, and 94 in alar extent. Above 
dark dusky olive ; the head brownish black, with an erectile crested 
cap, like all the rest of this North American family of Flycatchers, 
with the exception of the Redstart (M. ruticilla.) Wings and tail 
dusky, approaching to black, the former edged on every feather with 
yellowish white, the latter forked. Below pale whitish yellow, 
brighter on the abdomen. Legs and bill wholly black. Iris hazet. 
The sexes almost entirely similar. 


WOOD PEWEE. 


(Tyrannus virens, Nosis. Tyrannula vircns, Jard. Bonar. Muscicapa 
virens, Aup. Orn, Biog. 11. p. 93, pl. 115. Lin. J. rapax, WiLson, 
ii. p. 81. pl. 13. fig. 5. Philad. Museum, Ne. 6660.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dusky brownish-olive, beneath pale yellowish; 
bill black, beneath dilute yellow; 2d primary longest; Ist much 
shorter than the 3d and longer than the 6th. 


Tuts species has much the appearance of the Common 
Pewit Flycatcher, but differs essentially by its note and 


WOOD PEWEEL. 317 


habits. 'The Wood Pewee appears generally to winter 
south of the United States, and scarcely arrives in Penn- 
sylvania or New England before the middle of May; its 
migrations, in all probability, extend to Canada. Accor- 
ding to Audubon many of them winter in the southern 
extremity of the United States, and Mr. Townsend and 
myself frequently saw them in the dark forests of the Ore- 
gon. It is a solitary species, frequenting gloomy forests, 
and dark orchards, where watching on some dead and project- 
ing branch for its insect prey, it sweeps at intervals amidst 
the shade, and the occasional snapping of its bill an- 
nounces the success of its flight. It then again alights as 
before, sometimes uttering a sort of gratulatory low twitter, 
accompanied by a quivering of the wings and tail, and in 
the lapse of its employment, in a feeble, sighing tone, often 
cries pee-wée or pee-€, and sometimes pé-wee pewittitee or 
pewittee pe-wee. ‘This note is continued often till quite 
late in the evening, at which time many of the insect 
brood and moths are abundant. Most of these birds, 
indeed, appear capable of collecting their food by the 
feeblest light, the only season when some of their favorite 
prey ever stir abroad. ‘This species also appears particu- 
larly fond of small wild bees. From June to September, 
its solitary notes are heard in the field and forest, after 
which time, preparing for its departure, and intently glean- 
ing food in every situation, it sometimes approaches the 
city, often examines the courts and gardens, at the same 
time feeding and training its young to the habits of their 
subsistence, and, about the first week in October, it retires 
south to pass the winter. 

The Péwee is a very expert and cautious flycatcher, 
and as if aware of the drowsiness of insects in the ab- 
sence of the sun’s broad light, he is on the alert at day- 


dawn after his prey. At this early period, and often in 
2i* 


318 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the dusk of evening, for the most part of summer till the 
middle of August, he serenades the neighborhood of his 
mansion from 3 to 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning, with an 
almost uninterrupted chanting ditty, sweet, but monoto- 
nous, like pé-ay pay-wée, pé-ay pdy-wée, then in a little 
higher and less sing-song tone, his usual and more serious 
pee-a-wee. In dark and damp mornings, this curious war- 
ble is sometimes continued nearly to 8 o’clock; and the 
effect of this tender, lulling lay, in the grey dawn, before 
the awakening of other birds, and their mingling chorus, 
is singular, and peculiarly pleasing. It is a gratulatory 
feeling of unmixed and placid delight, concomitant with 
the mild reviving light of the opening day, and the perfect 
joy of the mated male, satisfied in every reasonable desire; 
in short, a hymn of praise to the benevolent Author and 
Supporter of existence ! 

Towards the period of departure they become wholly 
silent, and, driven to extremity, they may now be seen 
watching the stagnant pools and ponds, dipping occasion- 
ally into the still surface after their drowsy and languid 
prey. Like the King-bird, this species at times displays 
a tyrannical disposition, and I have observed one to chase a 
harmless Sparrow to the ground for safety, who merely by 
inadvertence happened to approach the station he had tem- 
porarily chosen for collecting his insect game. 

The notes of peto-way peto-wiy pee-way are never ut- 
tered by this species; but on the 12th of February, 18380, 
in Alabama, I heard, at that season, a bird uttering this 
note, and several times afterwards I saw a rather large 
and dark Flycatcher in the Pine woods, to which I attri- 
buted this call, and which must be a distinct species, as its 
notes bear no resemblance to those of the Wood Pewee, 
at this season, probably, in South America. 

The Pewee, I believe, raises here but a single brood, 


PHEBE, OR SHORT LEGGED PEWIT. 319 


which are not abroad before the middle of July. The 
nest is extremely neat and curious, almost universally sad- 
dled upon an old moss-grown and decayed limb in an hori- 
zontal position, and is so remarkably shallow, and incor- 
porated upon the branch, as to be very easily overlooked. 
The body of the fabric consists of wiry grass or root fibres, 
often blended with small branching lichens, held together 
with cob-webs, and caterpillar’s silk, moistened with saliva; 
externally it is so coated over with bluish crustaceous 
lichens as to be hardly discernible from the moss upon the 
tree. It is lined with finer root fibres or slender grass- 
stalks. SSome nests are, however, scarcely lined at all, 
being so thin as readily to admit the light through them, 
and are often very lousy with a species of acarus, which 
probably infests the old birds. The eggs, 3 or 4, are of a 
yellow cream-color, spotted and blotched, though not pro- 
fusely, towards the great end with two shades of lilac, and 
dark brown. 


- 


The Wood Pewee is about 6 inches in length; alar extent 10. 
Above dusky olive. Head, as usual, partly crested, brownish black. 
Below pale yellowish, inclining to white. Tail forked. The female 
a little smaller. 


PHCEBE, or SHORT LEGGED PEWIT. 


(Tyrannus Phebe, Noxzis. Tyrannula Phebe, Bonar. p. 24. Muscicapa 
Phabe, Laru. Tyrannula Richardsonii, Swaixs. North. Zool. ii. p. 
146. pl. 46. [lower figure]. Muscicapa Richardsonii, Aup. Orn. Biog. 
v. p. 299. pl. 434.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Olive-brown; beneath pale; head with a thick 
incumbent crest; bill black; the 2d and 5th quills equal, the 3d 
and 4th equal and longest ; tail slightly forked; tarsus very short. 


Tuts species, so nearly allied to the Pewit (M. fusca, 
Bonap.) was found in the neighborhood of Cumberland 


320 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


House in the fur countries, frequenting moist and shady 
woods by the banks of rivers and lakes. According to 
the suggestion of Dr. Richardson, its discoverer, it proba- 
bly extends its summer range to the shores of Great Slave 
Lake. 

My friend Audubon found this species plentiful on the 
coast of Labrador, and was at first inclined to overlook it 
for the common Pewit Flycatcher; its habits and voice 
however, were soon discovered to be sufficiently different ; 
the nest also was placed in a bush and of a very large size 
chiefly composed of dry moss (or Usnea) and lined with 
the feathers of the Eider Duck and Willow Grouse, it was 
also suspended almost in the manner of the Orchard Ori- 
ole; the eggs 5 to 7 were white and minutely spotted 
nearly all over with brown specks. If this bird be indeed 
the Phebe of Latham it must be much more common than 
is supposed, but so easily confounded with the Common 
Pewit, as seldom to be distinguished from it. 


Leneth 6 inches 8 lines: the tail 2 inches 9 lines: the folded wings 
3 inches 3 lines; the bill from above, 4 an inch; tarsus 7} lines. 
Above hair-brown, very lightly tinged with olive-green, much darker 
on the head than elsewhere. Wings and tail liver-brown; the mar- 
gins of the secondaries and their coverts, and the outer edges of the 
exterior tail feathers, paler, as if worn. Below pale, between oil- 
green and wax-yellow, the under tail coverts approaching to ochre- 
yellow. Bill blackish-brown. Legs black. Tail an inch longer than 
the folded wings. The legs and feet much more slender than in the 
Pewit. The secondaries and tertiaries are also without the broad and 
distinct paler edgings of the Pewit. 


SMALL PEWEE. 


(Tyrannus acadicus, Novis. Tyrannula acadica, Swatns. Bonar. Mus- 
cicapa acadica,Gm. M. querula, Witson, il. p. 77. pl. 13. fig. 3. Aub. 
pl. 144. Philad. Museum. No. 6825.) 


SMALL PEWEE. 321 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dusky olive-green, below yellowish white ; bill 
black, beneath dull flesh-color; 3d primary longest, Ist and 6th 
equal; a whitish space about the eye ; tail even. 


Tuts is one of our most common summer birds in this 
part of New England, arriving from the South ,about the 
last week in April, and leaving us, to retire probably to 
tropical America, about the beginning of September, or 
sometimes alittle later. They also extend their migrations 
to Labrador and the Oregon 'Territory,* and seem most 
abundant in the Northern and Eastern States. ‘Though, 
like the preceding, it is a solitary, retiring bird, and fond 
of the shade of the forest, yet in this vicinity, their nests 
are numerous. On their first arrival, previous to pairing, 
they are engaged in constant quarrels about their mates, 
and often molest other birds whom they happen to see em- 
ployed in pursuit of the same kind of food with them- 
selves. Like the preceding species, they take their station 
on a low branch to reconnoitre the passing insects on 
which they feed, and from time to time make a circular 
sweep for their prey. When seated, they utter very fre- 
quently a sharp, unpleasant squeak, somewhat resembling 
that of the King-bird, sounding like quech, and sometimes 
’tsh’ ah, or tshedh, tsheah, and tshooé, with a guttural, snap- 
ping sound, succeeded by a kind of querulous, low twitter, 
uttered as they fly from tree to tree, and chiefly at the in- 
stant of alighting. At other times they have a recognising, 
rather low call of ’whit ’whit, repeated at short intervals ; 
again, in the warmest weather, I have heard one of these 
Pewees call something like the whistling of ’weet, weet, 
"weet, will, Occasionally, when fighting or in flying, it 
also makes an echoing tshirr. It possesses all the habits 
of the King-bird, catches bees, flies, and moths, exhibits a 


* Brought from thence by Mr. Townsend, 


322 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


variety of quivering motions, and defends its nest with great 
courage against the approach of larger birds. 
The nest of the Small Pewee is usually fixed in the 
slender, upright forks of a young forest tree, from 6 to 20 
or 30 feet from the ground. I have also found the nests 
on the horizontal branch of an apple tree or forest tree. 
In most instances, in the woods, a gloomy, solitary situa- 
tion is chosen. The materials of this fabric vary accord- 
ing to circumstances ; for the first brood, a very soft and 
warm nest is usually made of dry grass, willow, and cud- 
weed down, in large quantities, partly felted or matted 
together externally with the saliva of the bird. Common 
tow, if convenient, is also occasionally employed, when 
the nest is in an apple tree, for which some neighboring 
graft is probably unravelled. They likewise sometimes 
employ bits of wool. The interior is usually formed of 
slender, narrow strips of bark, bass, and dry grass; the 
lining is commonly of fine root fibres, slender tops of bent 
grass, and at times a few hairs and feathers. Occasionally 
the principal external material consists of strips or strings 
of silk-weed lint, and the bark of the common virgin’s 
bower.* The nest is extremely neat and uniform, resem- 
bling a complete hemisphere. The eggs are 5, and pure 
white. As nests may be found late in July, it is probable 
they have a second brood in the course of the season. 
They are extremely attached to their offspring, and keep 
up an incessant almost choking tshédh tsheah, when 
any person approaches towards the tree where they have 
their brood. The young and old now move about in com- 
pany, and at this time feed on various kinds of berries, 
particularly those of the cornel and whortle-berry. At 
length, the young are seen to select each other’s society, 


i et a a SS EE E=E=_—_______ 


* Clematis virginiana. 


TRAILL’S PEWEE. 323 


and rove about without any fixed resort, previous to their 
gradual departure. A pair, probably of the same brood, 
still lingered here in September, and like the little Parrots, 
called Inseparable, appeared fondly to cherish each other’s 
company. It was towards evening when I saw them, and 
at first they appeared inclined to roost in the shady willow 
tree on which they had alighted. They nestled close to 
each other with looks and notes of tenderness and affec- 
tion ; wherever one went the other instantly followed, and 
the same branch continually presented the same constant 
pair. 

This species is 53 inches in Jength, and 9 in alar extent. Above it 
is dusky olive green. Beneath yellowish-white, inclining to ash color 
on the breast. The wings are dusky brown, crossed with two bars of 
brownish or sullied white; a ring of the same surrounds the eye ; 
secondaries edged with whitish, the outer edge of the Ist primary 
white, under wing-coverts pale yellow; 2d, 3d, and 4th primaries 
nearly of a length, with the Ist and 6th also equal. Tail pale dusky 
brown, decidedly emarginate, the outer feather margined with whit- 
ish. Legs and feet black. Jill, upper mandible blackish-brown, the 
lower, between horn and flesh color, not remarkable for its breadth. 


The sexes nearly alike. The white marks considerably clearer in the 
young before moulting. 


TRAILL’S PEWEE 


(Tyrannus Trailii, Novis. Tyrannula Traillii, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 
24. Muscicapa Traillii, Aup. Orn. Biog. i. p. 236. pl. 45. [male].) 


Spec. Cnaract.— Dusky brownish-olive; below dull yellowish- 
white ; bill blackish, not convex at the sides; beneath yellowish; 


3d primary longest; a narrow whitish space about the eye; tail 
emarginate. 


Tis species, so nearly allied to the last, was first dis- 
tinguished by Audubon. Its note resembles the syllable 
’wheet, ’wheet, articulated clearly while in the act of flying. 


924 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


It was first observed on the wooded skirts of the prairies 
along the banks of the Arkansa. Mr. Townsend and myself 
observed it in various places in the skirts of the forests of 
the Columbia and Wahlamet during the summer, when it 
was breeding; but we could not discover the nest. Its 
motions are thus described by Audubon. ‘ When leaving 
the top branches of a low tree, this bird takes long flights, 
skimming in zig-zag lines, passing close over the tops of 
the tall grasses, snapping at and seizing different species 
of winged insects and returning to the same trees to 
alight.” 


Length about 53 inches; extent of the wings 83. Tail longish, 
slightly forked when closed. Bill dark brown above, yellow beneath. 
Feet brownish-black. Above dull brownish olive ; larger wing-coverts 
tipped with dull white. Throat greyish-white, as is a very narrow 
space around the eye ; sides of the head and neck, and the fore part 
of the breast, colored like the back, but lighter; the rest of the un- 
der parts dull yellowish-white. 


LITTLE PEWEE.: 


(Tyrannus pusillus, Nozwis. Tyrannula pusilla, Swains. North. Zool. 
ii. p. 144, pl. 46. fig. 1. Avp. pl. 434.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Above olive; paler beneath; orbits and front 
hoary ; wings somewhat rounded; Ist quill shorter than the 6th, 
and the 2d shorter than the 4th; the bill short and broad, with 
the under mandible pale. A small species. 


Norurne characteristic is known concerning the habits 
of this bird, which according to Richardson, was seen 
near Carleton House in the fur countries, the 19th of May, 
flitting. about for a few days among low bushes on the 
banks of the Saskatchewan, after which it retired to the 
shady woods farther to the north. Without attending to 
the marks here given in the specific character it would be 


LITTLE PEWEE- 325 


impossible to distinguish this bird from the Muscicapa. 
acadica, (M. querula, of Wilson.) In M. querula, how- 
ever, the wings are invariably longer, being 3 inches, but 
in pusilla only 2; of an inch long, and the primaries but 
35 longer than the secondaries, while in acadica they are 
an inch longer. According to Swainson, this new species 
is also a native of the shores of Mexico. 

On Wappatoo island, at the junction of the Wahlamet 
and Columbia, I observed a male of this species very ac- 
tive and cheerful, making his chief residence in a spread- 
ing oak, on the open border of a piece of forest. As 
usual, he took his station at the extremity of a dead 
branch, from whence, at quick intervals, he darted after 
passing insects. When at rest, he raised his erectile crest, 
and in great earnest called out szshuz, s7shui, and some- 
times tsishea, tsishea, in a lisping tone, rather quickly, and 
sometimes in great haste, so as to run both calls together. 
This brief, rather loud, quaint, and monotonous ditty, was 
continued for hours together, at which time, so great was 
our little actor’s abstraction, that he allowed a near ap- 
proach without any material apprehension. As I could not 
discover any nest, I have little doubt it was concealed 
either in some knot, or laid on some horizontal branch. 

Mr. Audubon found this species both in Newfoundland 
and on the coast of Labrador in considerable numbers, 
and Mr. M’Culloch obtained it in Nova Scotia. In the 
breeding season the males are very quarrelsome. Mr. A. 
found a nest of this bird placed between two small twigs 
of a bush not above 4 feet from the ground. ‘The nest 
was composed of dry grass and root fibres, so thinly ar- 
ranged as to be readily seen through; the eggs were 5 in 
number, white, and thinly spotted with brown-red, and a 
few dots of umber. 


28 


326 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


BLACK PEWEE. 


(Tyrannus nigricans, Nosis. Tyrannula nigricans Swains. Musci- 
capa nigricans, Aup. Orn. Biog. v. p. 302. pl. 434. [male].) 


Spec. Coaract. — Head, neck, fore part of the back, a part of the 
breast and sides brownish-black ; a small band of white across the 
wing; breast, abdomen, vent, and a small band on the wing, white. 


I opserveD this species rather common in the vicinity of 
Santa Barbara, in Upper California, in the month of April. 
One which I particularly observed kept near the house and 
garden in a very familiar manner, which led me to believe 
there was a nest, probably in some decayed cranny of the 
building. The male perched much on an olive tree on the 
edge of the garden, watching for passing insects, and kept 
up, at times, a slight call somewhat in the manner of the 
Common Pewee. I was informed of the existence of a 
nest in a hole in the wall of the neighboring convent, but 
I did not see it. 


Length 7 inches; wing from the flexure about 33 inches. Bill and 
feet black; iris brown. Head, hind neck, fore part of the back, fore 
neck, a portion of the breast, and the sides dark sooty brown; the 
rest of the upper parts greyish-brown ; secondary coverts tipped with 
greyish-white. Middle of the breast, abdomen, and lower tail coverts 
white. 


SETOPHAGA. (Swarns.) AMERICAN REDSTART. 


Bill depressed, of moderate width, compressed and slightly bent to- 
wards the tip; with elongated bristles at the base, the mandibles of 
equal length and acute; the upper scarcely notched. Tarsus longer 
than the middle toe, 2d and 3d primaries about equal and longest, 
with the first scarcely shorter. Tail rather long and wedge-shaped. 

The moult of the male is double, and the voice musical like that 
of the Sylvias and Vireos, to which it is related, but sufficiently dis- 


AMERICAN REDSTART. 327 


tinct. Nearly allied to the foreign Malurus of Vieillot, as well as to 
the Indian Phenicornis of Swainson, in which the brilliant colors and 
their distribution are very similar, but in that the tail is long, and un- 
equally graduated, and the bill more robust and strongly notched: 
The nest not pendulous, neat and somewhat artful, resembling that of 


the Sylvias. 


AMERICAN REDSTART. 


(Setophaga ruticilla, Sw. Muscicapa ruticilla, L. Witson, i. p. 103, 
pl. 6. fig. 6. [adult male.] v. p. 119. pl. 45. fig. 2. [young]. Avupv- 
Bon, pl. 40. [in the act of attacking a nest of hornets.] Philad. 
Museum, No 6658.) 


Spec. Cuaracr.— Black; belly white; sides of the breast, base of 
the primaries and tail-feathers (the two middle ones excepted) red- 
dish orange. — Female, young, and autumnal male greenish-olive ; 
head cinereous ; beneath whitish; sides of the breast and base of 
the tail feathers, yellow. 


Tus beautiful and curious bird takes up its summer 
residence in almost every part of the North American con- 
tinent, being found in Canada, in the remote interior near 


328 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Red river in the latitude of 49 degrees, throughout Louis- 
iana, Arkansa, and the maritime parts of Mexico; in all 
of which vast countries it familiarly breeds and resides 
during the mild season, withdrawing early in September 
to tropical America, where, in the perpetual spring and 
summer of the larger West India islands, the species again 
find means of support. At length, instigated by more 
powerful feelings than those of ordinary want, the male, 
now clad in his beautiful nuptial livery, and accompanied 
by his mate, seeks anew the friendly but far distant natal 
regions of his race. In no haste, the playful Redstart 
does not appear in Pennsylvania until late in April. The 
month of May, about the close of the first week, ushers 
his arrival into the states of New England; but in Louis- 
iana he is seen as early as the beginning of March. He 
is no pensioner upon the bounty of man. ‘Though some- 
times seen, on his first arrival, in the darkest part of the 
orchard or garden, or by the meandering brook, he seeks 
to elude observation, and now, the great object of his mi- 
grations having arrived, he retires with his mate to the 
thickest of the sylvan shade. Like his relative Sylvias, he 
is full of life and in perpetual motion. He does not, like 
the loitering Pewee, wait the accidental approach of his 
insect prey, but carrying the war amongst them, he is seen 
flitting from bough to bough, or at times pursuing the fly- 
ing troop of winged insects from the top of the tallest tree 
in a zig-zag, hawk-like, descending flight, to the ground, 
while the clicking of the bill declares distinctly both his 
object and success. Then alighting on some adjoining 
branch, intently watching, with his head extended, he runs 
along upon it for an instant or two, flirting like a fan his 
expanded brilliant tail from side to side, and again sud- 
denly shoots off like an arrow in a new direction, after the 
fresh game he has discovered in the distance, and for 


AMERICAN REDSTART. 329 


which he appeared to be reconnoitring. At first the males 
are seen engaged in active strife, pursuing each other in 
wide circles through the forest. ‘The female seeks out her 
prey with less action and flirting, and in her manners re- 
sembles the ordinary Sylvias. 

The notes of the male, though not possessed of great 
compass, are highly musical, and at times sweet and 
agreeably varied like that of the Warblers. Many of 
these tones, as they are mere trills of harmony, cannot be 
recalled by any words. Their song on their first arrival is 
however nearly uniform, and greatly resembles the ’tsh 
'tsh tsh tshee, tshé, tshe, tshe tshea, or’tsh’tsh’tsh ’tshitshee 
of the summer Yellow-bird (Sylvia e@stiva), uttered in a 
piercing and rather slender tone; now and then also 
agreeably varied with a somewhat plaintive flowing ’tshé 
tshé tshé, or a more agreeable ’tshit ’tshit a ’tshee, given al- 
most in the tones of the Common Yellow-bird (fringilla 
tristis). Ihave likewise heard individuals warble out a 
variety of sweet, and tender, trilling, rather loud and 
shrill notes, so superior to the ordinary lay of incubation, 
that the performer would scarcely be supposed the same 
bird. On some occasions the male also, when angry or 
alarmed, utters a loud and snapping chirp. 

The nest of this elegant Sylvan Flycatcher is very 
neat and substantial; fixed occasionally near the forks of a 
slender hickory or beach sappling, but more generally 
fastened or agglutinated to the depending branches or 
twigs of the former; sometimes securely seated amidst 
the stout footstalks of the waving foliage* in the more 
usual manner of the delicate cradle of the Indian Tailor- 
bird,+ but in the deep and cool shade of the forest, in- 


* See the vignette at the close of this article, which represents one of the nests 
here described. 


t Sylvia sutoria ; the nest as given in Forbes’s History of India. 
20* 


330 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


stead of the blooming bower. Security being obtained 
by a firm adhesion of the materials, our little brilliant 
and active architect is seldom solicitous about a great 
elevation, the height of the nest being probably rarely 
more than 6 to 12 feet from the ground; except in erect 
sapplings, when the height may be 20 to 30 feet. The 
external materials (of 3 nests from which I now describe) 
are short and rather coarse strips of Hemlock fir bark, 
and also stalks of small tree leaves, or tough blades of 
grass (Poa compressa) agglutinated by saliva, and thinly 
tied over with caterpillar’s silk and the linty bark of the 
dog’s bane (Apocynum, Sp.); to the outside appear also 
attached bits of snow-white fibrous touch-woo0d, and 
films of paper-birch bark; within this first layer are 
more scraps of touch-wood and bits of a white fungus 
(Agaricus tomentosus); after which, the rest of the man- 
ufacture, to the thickness of more than half an inch, 
consists almost wholly of slender brown strips of grape- 
vine bark, becoming thinner towards the ultimate lining 
surface, so as to appear no thicker, at length, than the 
finer sewing-thread. Sometimes, as in one of these nests, 
while making the first tenacious layer, sparing and acci- 
dental bits of thread are not refused when convenient, 
which must however seldom happen from the solitary and 
secluded habits of the species. This nest, never pensile, 
bears a great resemblance to that of the Pine Warbler, 
but the lining is neither soft nor downy. The eggs, 3 
or 4, are cream white, and pretty thickly sprinkled with 
yellowish-brown spots of two shades, becoming more 
numerous towards. the greater end. Both parents, but 
particularly the male, exhibit great concern for the safety 
of their nest, whether containing eggs only or young, and 
on its being approached, the male will flit about within 
a few feet of the invador, regardless of his personal safety, 


AMERICAN REDSTART, 331 


and exhibiting unequivocal marks of distress. The 
parents also, in their solicitude and fear, keep up an in- 
cessant ’¢ship when their infant brood are even distantly 
approached. 


The length of the Redstart is 55 inches; alar extent about 64. 
Above, the general color is black, in places glossed with steel blue ; 
the sides of the breast below the black, the inside of the wings, and 
upper half of the primaries are of a fine reddish orange, sometimes 
approaching scarlet. The 4 middle feathers of the tail are black, the 
rest orange and black towards the tips. The belly and vent white, 
tinged with pale orange. Legs blackish, long and slender, (better 
suited for walking than those of the other Flycatchers of the United 
States.) Bill brownish flesh-color.—The young males resemble 
the female in most respects, but differ in having a yellow band 
across the wings; the back is also browner, the inside of the wings 
is yellow. In the 3d season he acquires his perfect livery. 


332 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


SYLVANIA. (Noris.) SYLVAN FLYCATCHERS. 


(Wixsonra. Bonar.) 


Britt of moderate length and breadth, straight, sub- 
cylindric, trigonal, somewhat depressed at the base, and 
acute; upper mandible slightly notched, the tip a little 
deflected, lower mandible straight; nostrils basal, partly 
covered by bristles. ‘l'arsus a little longer than the middle 
toe; wings somewhat acute; 2d or 38d primary longest. 

A tribe of small Flycatchers living in the forests and 
nearly allied to the Sylvicolas, with the last of which they 
agree almost entirely in habits, having also similar notes, 
but feeding in the manner of the European Flycatchers 
and with bristles at the base of the bill. 


BONAPARTE’S SYLVAN FLYCATCHER. 


(Sylvania Bonapartii, Noss. Wilsonia Bonapartii, Bonar. Muscicapa 
Bonapartii, AupuBoN, pl. 5. Orn. Biog. i. p. 27.) 


Spec. Cuaract. —Cinereous, front and beneath dull yellow, mixed 
with grey, the breast sparingly spotted ; tail wedge-shaped. 


Tis species was discovered by Audubon in a cypress 
swamp, in Louisiana, on the 18th of August, 1821, which 
was the only time he ever met with it. Its manners ap- 
peared very similar to those of the American Redstart, 
and it now uttered merely a plaintive ‘tweet. 


Size a little more than 5 inches. Primaries edged with white. 
Bill pale, above light greyish-blue, Quills dusky, their outer webs 
blue; 2d primary longest. Legs yellowish flesh color. I believe I 
have once seen this species in a grove of the Botanic Garden in Cam- 
bridge. 


MITRED SYLVAN FLYCATCHER. 333 


MITRED SYLVAN FLYCATCHER. 


(Sylvania Mitrata, Nosis. Wilsonia Mitrata, Bonar. Sylvia Mitrata, 
Laru. Aup. pl. 110; and Muscicapa cucullata, Witson 3. p. 101. pl. 
26. f. 3. [male]. Muscicapa Selb, Aupuson, pl. 9. Orn. Biog. i. p. 
46. [young].) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Yellow-olive, head, neck, and throat black ; fore- 
head, cheeks, and body beneath, yellow; 3 lateral tail-feathers 
white on one half of their inner webs.— Young wholly olive 
green, below and line over the eye yellow. 


Turs beautiful and singularly marked summer species, 
common in the South, is rarely seen to the north of the 
state of Maryland. It retires to Mexico or the West In- 
dies probably to pass the winter. At Savannah, in 
Georgia, it arrives from the south about the 20th of 
March, according to Wilson. It is partial to low and 
shady situations darkened with underwood, is frequent 
among the cane-brakes of Tennessee and Mississippi, and 
is exceedingly active, and almost perpetually engaged in 
the pursuit of winged insects. While thus employed, it 
now and then utters three loud, and not unmusical, very 
lively notes, resembling the words, twee twee ’twittshe. 
In its simple song and general habits it therefore much 
resembles the Summer Yellow Bird. Its neat and com- 
pact nest is generally fixed in the fork of a small bush, 
formed outwardly of moss and flax, lined with hair, and 
sometimes feathers; the eggs about 5, are greyish-white, 
with reddish spots towards the great end. 

This species is about 54 inches long, and 8 in alar extent. The 
forehead, cheeks, and chin yellow, surrounded with a hood of 
black that covers the crown, hind-head, and part of the neck, and 
descends rounding over the breast; all the rest of the lower parts 
yellow. Above, yellow olive. Bill black. Legs flesh-colored. 


Tail emarginate, exteriorly edged with olive-yellow. —In the female, 
the throat and breast are yellow, only slightly tinged with blackish ; 


334 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the black does not reach so far down the upper part of the neck, and 
is less deep. The young? have little or no black on the head or neck 
above. 


SMALL-HEADED SYLVAN FLYCATCHER. 


(Sylvania pumilia, Nosis. Sylvia pumilia, Viriri. Orn. Amer. ii. p. 
39. t. 100. S. Trochillus. Var. 8. Laru. 7. p. 77. [ed. 2d.] S. Minuta. 
Bonar. Aun. pl. 434. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 291. Wilsonia Minuta, Bonar. 
Birds, &c. p. 23. Ficedula carolinensis, Briss. Muscicapa Minuta, 
Witson. 6. p. 62. pl. 50. f. 5.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark yellow-olive; beneath pale dull yellow; 
wings and tail dusky brown; the wing-coverts tipt with white ; 
two lateral tail-feathers with a white spot on the inner vanes. 


Tis rare species was figured by Wilson, who met with 
it in Pennsylvania, towards the close of April in an or- 
chard, where with remarkable activity it was running and 
darting about among the opening buds and blossoms in 
quest of winged insects. According to Audubon this spe- 
cies has several rather pleasing notes which it utters at 
regular intervals in the manner apparently of the Sylvico- 
las. It is not uncommon; being seen in New Jersey, 
particularly in swamps, and may breed there, as it is found 
in the month of June. In the southern parts of the Union, 
in summer, it is probably more frequent than in the Middle 
States. My friend, Mr. C. Pickering, obtained a specimen 
several years ago near Salem, Massachusetts, in which 
state I have also seen it at the approach of winter. At 
this season it is also found in Jamaica and other of the 
West India Islands. According to Catesby they breed in 
North Carolina. 

According to Vieillot this species is found in Jamaica, 
St. Domingo, and Cayenne, as well as in South Carolina, 


WILSON’S SYLVAN FLYCATCHER. 300 


where it breeds and passes the summer. He had not seen 
the eggs, but obtained the nest with 4 young. The nest 
is thin, deep, and composed solely of fine grass artfully 
wrought in the bifurcation of three small branches to 
which it is in a manner suspended. 


Length 5 inches ; alar extent 83. Below dirty white, stained with 
dull yellow towards the upper part of the breast. Bill dusky yellow, 
broad at the base, notched near the tip, with porrected bristles at the 
base. Legs dark brown; feet yellowish ; iris hazel. 


WILSON’S SYLVAN FLYCATCHER. 


(Sylvania pusilla, Nozts. Wilsonia pusilla, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 23. 
Muscicapa pusilla, Witson, 3. p. 103. pl. 26, f. 4. Sylvia Wilsonii, 
Bonar. Muscicapa Wilson, Aup. pl. 124. Phil. Museum, No. 


7785.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Olive-green; crown black; front, line over the 
eye, and all beneath, yellow; tail rounded. — Female and young, 
at first without the black crown, and dull yellow olive. 


Tuts remarkable species of Sylvan Flycatcher was first 
observed by Wilson in New Jersey and Delaware, as a 
transitory bird of passage. Audubon has noticed it in 
Labrador and Newfoundland where it was breeding, and it 
is not uncommon inthe state of Maine. He also saw it in 
his way to Texas early in April. They begin to migrate 
from Newfoundland about the middle of August and are 
seen in Maine in October. Mr. 'Townsend and myself had 
the pleasure of observing the arrival of this little cheerful 
songster in the wilds of Oregon about the first week of 
May where they commonly take up their summer residence, 
and seem almost the counterpart of our brilliant and cheer- 
ful Yellow-Bird (Sylvia estiva) tuning their lay to the 
same brief and lively ditty, like ’tsh ’tsh ’tsh tshea, or 


336 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


something similar; their call, however is more brief and 
less loud. It was generally familiar and unsuspicious, 
kept in bushes more than trees, particularly in the thickets 
which bordered the Columbia, busily engaged collecting 
its insect fare, and only varying its employment, by an 
occasional and earnest warble. By the 12th of May, they 
were already feeding their full-fledged young, though I 
also found a nest on the 16th of the same month, contain- 
ing 4 eggs, and just commencing incubation. The nest 
was in the branch of a small service bush, laid very 
adroitly as to concealment upon an accidental mass of old 
moss, (Usnea) that had fallen from a tree above. It was 
made chiefly of ground moss (Hypnum) with a thick 
lining of dry, wiry, slender grass. ‘The female, when ap- 
proached, went off slyly, running along the ground like a 
mouse. The eggs are very similar to those of the Sum- 
mer Yellow-Bird, sprinkled with spots of pale olive-brown, 
inclined to be disposed in a ring at the greater end as ob- 
served by Mr. Audubon in a nest which he found in Lab- 
rador made in a dwarf fir, also made of moss and slender 
fir twigs. 

Length 43 inches, extent of wings 6%. Bill light brown; feet 
flesh-colored. Olive green above. Crown black, with a green re- 
flection, bordered anteriorly with bright yellow. Wings and tail 


dusky, margined with green; tips of the wing coverts pale greenish- 
grey. Sides of neck greenish-grey; below generally bright yellow. 


Subgenus. —Cuticivora. (Genus Sw.) 


Bill rather broad at base, notched at the tip which is somewhat 
declinate. — Tail longish. 


BLUE GRAY SYLVAN FLYCATCHER. 337 


BLUE-GRAY SYLVAN FLYCATCHER. 


(Sylvania cerulea, Noxis. Culicivora cerulea, Swains. Bonar. Musci- 
capa cerulea, Witson, il. p. 164. pl. 18. fig. 5. Sylvia eerulea, Latu. 
Aup. pl. 84. Philad. Museum, No. 6829.) 


Spec. Craract.—Bluish-grey; beneath pale bluish-white; tail 
longer than the body, rounded, black ; outer tail-feathers nearly 
white, the two succeeding tipt with white. — Female bluish white 
below, without the black line over the eye and front. 


Bur for the length of the tail, this would rank among 
the most diminutive of birds. It is a very dexterous, 
lively insect hunter, and keeps commonly in the tops of 
tall trees; its motions are rapid and incessant, appearing 
always in quest of its prey, darting from bough to bough 
with hanging wings and elevated tail, uttering only at times 
a feeble song of tsee tsee tsee, scarcely louder than the 
squeak of amouse. It arrives in the stateof Pennsylvania 
from the south about the middle of April, and seldom 
passes to the north of the states of New York and Ohio, 
though others following the course of the large rivers pen- 
etrate into Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansa.* Its first 
visits are paid to the blooming willows, along the borders 
of water courses, and, besides other small insects, it now 
preys on the troublesome musquetoes. About the begin- 
ning of May it forms its nest, which is usually fixed among 
twigs, at the height of 10, or sometimes even 50 feet from 
the ground, near the summit of a forest tree. It is formed 
of slight materials, such as the scales of buds, stems and 
parts of fallen leaves, withered blossoms, fern + down, and 
the silky fibres of various plants, lined with a few horse- 
hairs, and coated externally with lichens. In this frail 


* Aud. Orn. Biog. i. p. 432. t Of the Osmunda cinnamomea, &c. 
29 
o 


338 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


nest, the Cow Troopial sometimes deposits her egg, and 
leaves her offspring to the care of these affectionate and 
pigmy nurses. In this case, as with the Cuckoo in the 
nest of the Yellow Wren and that of the Red-tailed Warb- 
ler, the egg is probably conveyed by the parent, and placed 
in this small and slender cradle, which would not be able 
to sustain the weight or receive the body of the intruder. 
The eggs of this species, 4 or 5, are white, with a few 
reddish dots towards the larger end. They are said to 
raise two broods in the season. 

This species leaves the Middle States for the south to- 
wards the close of September, wintering in tropical Amer- 
ica, where they have been observed in Cayenne. Early in 
March, it arrives in Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia 
from its tropical winter-quarters, but none pass that season 
within the boundaries of the Union. 


Length of the Blue-grey Flycatcher 44 inches; alar extent 6. 
Front and line over the eye black. Above, light bluish-grey, bright- 
est on the head. Below bluish-white and pale (white, in the females.) 
Tail edged with blue, its coverts black. Wings brownish black, some 
of the secondaries next the body edged with white. Legs pale blue. 
Iris hazel. Bill black, broad, notched somewhat more at the tip, than 
the rest of this genus. 


ICTERIA. (Viei1tLot, Bonar.) 


Tuer pitt robust, rather long, convex, curved, com- 
pressed, entire, and pointed, with divergent bristles at its 
base ; the mandibles nearly equal, with the edges some- 
what bent inwards. Nosrrits rounded, half covered by 
an arched membrane. Tongue cartilaginous, slightly cleft 
at the point. — The inner toe unconnected with the ad- 
joining one. First primary a little shorter than the 2d, 3d, 
and 4th, which are longest. — Female similar to the male 
in color. 


YELLOW-BREASTED ICTERIA. 339 


They feed on insects and berries ; are fond of concealment; alight 
occasionally on the ground near the thickets where they hide. Their 
flight is irregular, and their song quaint and varied.— The genus 
contains but a single species, and is peculiar to America. It is allied 
to Muscicapa as well as to the Vireo and Thrush. 


YELLOW-BREASTED ICTERIA. 


(Icteria viridis, Bonar. Aun. pl. 137. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 223. Pipra poly - 
glotta, Wi1tson 1. p. 90. pl. 6. fig. 2. Muscicapa viridis, GmEw. Phila. 
Museum, No. 6661.) 


OzsEery. General color above deep olive-green; the throat and 
breast yellow ; with the abdomen and a line encircling the eyes 
white. 


Tuts remarkable bird is another summer resident of the 
United States, which passes the winter in tropical America, 
being found in Guiana and Brazil, so that its migrations 
probably extend indifferently into the milder regions of 
both hemispheres. Even the birds essentially tropical are 
still known to migrate to different distances on either side 
the equator, so essential and necessary is this wandering 
habit to almost all the feathered race. 

The Icteria arrives in Pennsylvania about the first week in 
May, and does not usually appear to proceed further north 
and east than the states of New York or Connecticut. 'To 
the west it is found in Kentucky and ascends the Ohio to 
the borders of Lake Erie.* In the distant interior, how- 
ever, near the Rocky mountains, towards the sources of 
the Arkansa, this bird was observed by Mr. Say, and Mr. 
Townsend saw it at Walla-Walla, on the Columbia, breed- 
ing in the month of June. It retires to the south about 
the middle of August, or as soon as the only brood it 
raises are fitted to undertake their distant journey. 


* Aup. Om. Biog. 2. p. 223, 


340 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


The males, as in many other migrating birds, who are 
not continually paired, arrive several days before the fe- 
males. As soon as our bird has chosen his retreat, which 
is commonly in some thorny or viny thicket, where he can 
obtain concealment, he becomes jealous of his assumed 
rights, and resents the Jeast intrusion, scolding all who 
approach in a variety of odd and uncouth tones, very diffi- 
cult to describe or imitate, except by a whistling, in which 
case the bird may be made to approach, but seldom within 
sight. His responses on such occasions are constant and 
rapid, expressive of anger and anxiety; and still unseen, 
his voice shifts from place to place amidst the thicket. 
Some of these notes resemble the whistling of the wings 
of a flying duck, at first loud and rapid, then sinking till 
they seem to end in single notes. A succession of other 
tones are now heard, some like the barking of young pup- 
pies, with a variety of hollow, guttural, uncommon sounds, 
frequently repeated, and terminated occasionally by some- 
thing like the mewing of a cat, but hoarser; a tone, to 
which all our Vireos, particularly the young, have frequent 
recurrence. All these notes are uttered with vehemence, 
and with such strange and various modulations, as to ap- 
pear near or distant, like the maneuvres of ventriloquism. 
In mild weather, also, when the moon shines, this exuber- 
ant gabbling, is heard nearly throughout the night, as if 
the performer was disputing with the echoes of his own 
voice. 

Soon after their arrival, or about the middle of May, 
the Icterias begin to build, fixing the nest commonly ina 
bramble-bush, in an interlaced thicket, a vine, or small 
cedar, 4 or 5 feet from the ground. The outside is 
usually composed of dry leaves, or thin strips of grape- 
vine bark, and lined with root-fibres and dry, slender 
blades of grass. The eggs are about 4, pale flesh-colored, 


VIREO. 341 


spotted all over with brown or dull red. The young are 
hatched in the short period of 12 days; and leave the 
nest about the second week in June. While the female 
is sitting, the cries of the male are still more loud and 
incessant. He now braves concealment, and, at times, 
mounts into the air almost perpendicularly 30 or 40 feet, 
with his legs hanging down, and, descending as he rose, 
by repeated jerks, he seems to be in a paroxysm of fear 
and anger. Its usual mode of flying is not, however, dif- 
ferent from that of other birds. 

The food of the Icteria consists of beetles and other 
shelly insects; and, as the summer advances, they feed on 
various kinds of berries, like the Flycatchers, and seem 
particularly fond of whortleberries. They are frequent 
through the Middle States, in hedges, thickets, and near 
rivulets and watery situations. 


The Icteria is 7 inches long, and 9in alar extent. Above, it is ofa 
rich deep olive-green, with the exception of the tips of the wings, and 
the inner vanes of the wing and tail-feathers, which are dusky 
brown ; throat and breast of a bright yellow; the abdomen and vent 
white ; the front dull cinereous ; Jores black ; a line of white extends 
from the nostril to the upper part of the eye, which it nearly encir- 
cles; a spot of white also at the base of the lower mandible. Bill 
black. Legs and feet bluish-grey, the hind claw rather the largest. 
— The female merely differs by having the black and white adjoin- 
ing the eye less pure and deep. 


VIREO. (Viertt.) GREENLETS or VIREOS. 


In these the pix is rather short, a little compressed, and 
furnished with bristles at its base; the upper mandible 
curved at the extremity and strongly notched; the lower 


is shorter, and recurved at tip. Nosrrits, at the base of 
29* 


342 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the bill, rounded. Tongue cartilaginous and cleft at the 
point. Zarsus longer than the middle toe. Wings rather 
acute ; the 2d or 3d primary longest. — Female resembling 
the male. The species more or less tinged with olive- 
green. 

These birds, in the early part of summer, live exclusivly 
on insects; towards autumn they feed on small bitterish 
or astringent berries, the hard, indigestible parts of which 
are regurgitated by the bill, as with the Flycatchers. 
They live almost wholly in trees, rarely ever alighting on 
the ground. The voice is highly musical, and their song 
long continued. At the approach of winter they migrate 
to tropical climates.— They are peculiar to America. 
Besides their other affinities, they are related to the true 
Icteri, in which the young and females are also olive- 
green: both build pendulous nests, have similar colored 
eggs, their song is not very different, and the young of 
both mew somewhat like cats. 


YELLOW-THROATED VIREO. 


(Vireo flavifrons, Vir1tt. Bonar. Aun. pl. 119. Muscicapa sylvicola, 
WILson, i. p. 117. pl. 7. fig. 3. Phil. Museum, No. 6661 ?) 


Sp. Cuaracr. — Yellow-olive ; throat, breast, frontlet and line round 
the eye, yellow; belly white ; wings with 2 white bands, and, as 
well as the tail, blackish. 


Tus species of Vireo, or Warbling Flycatcher, visits 
the Middle and Northern States of the Union about the 
beginning of May, or as soon as his insect food allows 
him a means of subsistence. He resides chiefly in the 
forest, where he hunts his tiny prey among the high 
branches, and as he shifts from twig to twig in the rest- 


VIREO. 343 


less pursuit, he often relieves his toil with a somewhat sad 
and indolent note, which he repeats, with some variation, 
at short intervals. This song appears like ’preea ’preed, 
&c., and it sometimes finishes with a complaining call 
of recognition, ’prréaigh ’prréaigh. These syllables rise 
and fall in different tones as they are repeated, but though 
usually sweet and impressive, are delivered too slow and 
solemn to be generally pleasing; in other respects they 
considerably resemble the song of the Red-Eyed Warb- 
ling Flycatcher, in whose company it is often heard, 
blending its deep but languid warble, with the loud, ener- 
getic notes of the latter, and their united music, uttered 
during summer, even at noon day, is rendered peculiarly 
agreeable, as nearly all the songsters of the grove are 
_ now seeking a silent shelter from the sultry heat. In the 
warmest weather, the lay of this bird is indeed peculiarly 
strong and lively; and his usually long drawn, almost 
plaintive notes are now delivered in fine succession, with 
a peculiar echoing and impressive musical cadence, ap- 
pearing like a romantic and tender reverie of delight. 
The song, now almost incessant, heard from this roving 
sylvan minstrel, is varied in bars nearly as follows: prea 
prea preot, preait preoit p’rriweet preeai, pewai praiou, 
preeai precd praoit, preeo préawit preeoo. When irritated, 
he utters a very loud and hoarse mewing, praigh praigh. 
As soon, however, as the warm weather begins to decline, 
and the business of incubation is finished, about the be- 
ginning of August, this sad and slow, but interesting 
musician, nearly ceases his song, a few feeble farewell notes 
only being heard to the first week in September. 

This species, like the rest of the genus, constructs a 
very beautiful pendulous nest, about 3 inches deep, and 

4 in diameter. One, which I now more particularly 
describe, is suspended from the forked twig of an oak, in 


344 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the near neighborhood of a dwelling house in the coun- 
try. It is attached firmly all round the curving twigs by 
which it is supported; the stoutest external materials or 
skeleton of the fabric is formed of interlaced folds of 
thin strips of red cedar bark, connected very intimately 
by coarse threads, and small masses of the silk of spiders’ 
nests, and of the cocoons of large moths. These threads 
are moistened by the glutinous saliva of the bird. Among 
these external materials are also blended fine blades of 
dry grass. The inside is thickly bedded with this last 
material, and fine root fibres, but the finishing layer, as 
if to preserve elasticity, is of rather coarse grass-stalks. 
Externally the nest is coated over with green lichen, at- 
tached very artfully by slender strings of caterpillars’ silk, 
and the whole afterwards tied over by almost invisible 
threads of the same, so as to appear as if glued on; and 
the entire fabric now resembles an accidental knot of 
the tree grown over with moss. Another nest was fixed 
on the depending branches of a wild cherry tree, 40 or 
50 feet from the ground. This was formed of slender 
bass strips wound crosswise, and held down with cater- 
pillars’ silk. The bottom was also principally floored with 
large fragments of white paper, the whole scattered over 
sparingly with bits of lichen and spiders’ nests, and very 
delicately lined with tops of fine bent grass. The eggs, 
about 4, are white, with a few deep ink-colored spots 
of two shades, a very little larger than those on the eggs of 
the Red-Eyed Vireo, and chiefly disposed towards the 
larger end. 

The food of this species, during the summer, is insects, 
but towards autumn they and their young feed also on va- 
rious small berries. About the middle of September, the 
whole move off and leave the United States, probably to 
winter in tropical America. 


SOLITARY VIREO, OR FLYCATCHER. 345 


The Yellow-Throated Vireo is 54 inches long, and 9 in alar extent. 
Above yellowish-olive ; throat, breast, and line over the eye lemon- 
yellow ; vent and belly white ; lesser wing-coverts, lower part of the 
back, aud rump, ash. Wings deep brown, almost black, with 2 white 
bars; primaries edged with pale ash, secondaries with white ; tail a 
little forked, of the color of the wings; the 3 exterior feathers edged 
on each vane with white. Legs, feet, and bill, greyish-blue. Iris 
hazel. The female and young have the yellow on the breast, around 
the eye, and the white on the wings, duller. 


SOLITARY VIREO, or FLYCATCHER. 


(Vireo solitarius, Vir1tu. Bonar. Avpuson, pl. 28. Orn. Biog. 1. p. 
147. Muscicapa solitaria, Wivson, 11. p. 143. pl. 17. fig. 6.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dusky olive ; head bluish-grey ; line from the up- 
per mandible round the eye whitish ; the breast pale cinereous; 
the belly white, yellow on each side; wings with 2 white bands, 
and with the tail dusky brown. 


Tuts is one of the rarest species of the genus, and from 
Georgia to Pennsylvania seems only as a straggler or ac- 
cidental visitor. One was obtained by Wilson in Mr. 
Bartram’s woods in the month of October. According to 
Audubon, it inhabits and breeds occasionally in the cane- 
brakes, and vast alluvial lands of Louisiana near the banks 
of the Mississippi. ‘The nest, as usual, is partly pensile 
from the forked twigs of alow bush. It is slightly put 
together, coated externally with grey lichens, and lined 
with the hair of wild animals. The eggs, 4 or 5, are white 
tinged with flesh color, with brownish red spots at the 
larger end. 

It possesses all the unsuspicious habits of the genus, 
allowing a near approach without alarm. It seldom rises 
beyond the tops of the canes or low bushes, amidst which 


it is commonly seen hopping in quest of its subsistence, 


346 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


which consists of insects and berries. Its flight is gener- 
ally tremulous and agitated. According to Dr. Bachman, 
“it is every year becoming more abundant in South Car- 
olina, where it remains from about the middle of February 
to that of March, keeping to the woods. It has a sweet 
and loud song of half a dozen notes, heard at a considera- 
ble distance.”’* 

About the beginning of May, in the oaks already almost 
wholly in leaf, on the banks of the Columbia, we heard 
around us the plaintive deliberate warble of this species, 
first noticed by Wilson. Its song seems to be intermediate 
between that of the Red-eyed and Yellow-breasted species, 
having the preai, preai, &c., of the latter, and the fine 
variety of the former in its tones. It darted about in the 
tops of the trees, incessantly engaged in quest of food, 
now and then disputing with some rival. The nest of this 
bird is made much in the same manner as that of the 
Vireo olivaceus. One which I examined was suspended 
from the forked twig of the wild crab tree, at about ten 
feet from the ground. The chief materials were dead and 
whitened grass leaves, with some cobwebs agglutinated to- 
gether, externally scattered with a, few shreds of moss 
(Hypnum) to resemble the branch on which it was hung; 
here and there were also a few of the white paper like cap- 
sules of the spider’s nest, and it was lined with fine blades 
of grass and slender root fibres. The situation, as usual, 
was open, but shady. 


This uncommon species is 54 inches long, and 84 in alar extent. 
The cheeks, upper part of the head, and neck, dark bluish-grey ; 
breast, pale cinereous, inclining to reddish-grey on the throat; flanks 
and sides of the breast yellow; back and tail-coverts dusky-olive ; 
the wings dusky-brown, with 2 white bands; primaries and tail-feath- 


* Aun. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 432. 


WHITE-EYED VIREO, OR FLYCATCHER. 347 


ers bordered with light green; tail emarginate, nearly black ; a line 
of white from the nostrils to the eye, which it also encircles. Belly 
and vent white. Bill very short, and nearly as broad as in the true 
Flycatchers. Upper mandible black; lower pale bluish-grey ; legs 
and feet bluish-grey. Irids hazel. — Female with the head dusky 
olive, and the throat greenish. 


WHITE-EYED VIREO, or FLYCATCHER. 


(Vireo noveboracensis, Bonar. AupuBon, pl. 63. Ornith. Biog. i. p. 
323. Muscicapa cantatriz, Witson, i. p. 166. pl. 18. fig. 6. Phil. 
Museum, No. 6778.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Yellow-olive ; beneath white, sides yellow ; line 
round the eye, and spot near the nostrils yellow; wings with 2 pale 
yellow bands, and with the tail blackish ; irids white. 


nis interesting little bird appears to be a constant 
resident within the limits of the United States; as, on the 
12th of January, I saw them in great numbers near 
Charleston, S. C., feeding on the wax-myrtle berries, in 
company with the Yellow-Rumped Sylvias. At this season 
they were silent, but very familiar, descending from the 
bushes when whistled too, and peeping cautiously, came 
down close to me, fooking about with complacent curios- 
ity, as if unconscious of any danger. In the last week of 
February, Wilson already heard them singing in the south- 
ern parts of Georgia, and throughout that month to March, 
I saw them in the swampy thickets nearly every day, so 
that they undoubtedly reside and pass the winter in the 
maritime parts of the Southern States. ‘Towards the Pa- 
cific this species was also found, in Oregon, by my friend 
Mr. Townsend. The arrival of this little unsuspicious 
warbler in Pennsylvania and New England is usually about 
the middle of April or earlier. On the 12th of March I 
first heard his voice in the low thickets of West Florida. 


348 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


His ditty was now simply — ss’¢ (with a whistle) wd witte 
witte wé-wd, (the first part very quick.) As late asin the first 
week in May, I observed a few stragglers in this vicinity 
peeping through the bushes ; and in the latter end of the 
month a pair had taken up their abode in the thickets of 
Fresh Pond, so that those which first arrive leave us and 
proceed further to the north. On the 22d of June I heard 
the male in full song, near his nest, in our neighborhood, 
where incubation was going on. His warble was very 
pleasing, though somewhat monotonous and whimsical. 
This affectionate note, often repeated, near to his faithful 
mate while confined to her nest, was like *tshippewee-wd- 
say ‘tshippewee-wée-was-say, sweetly whistled, and with 
a greater compass of voice and loudness, than might have 
been expected from the size of the little vocalist. The 
song is sometimes changed two or three times in the 
course of twenty minutes; and I have heard the following 
phrases; ‘att tshippewat ’wurr, tshippewat ’wurr; at 
another time, ’tshipeway ’tshe o et ’tsherr. On another 
visit the little performer had changed his song to ’pip te 
waigh a tshewa, with a guttural trill, as usual, at the last 
syllable. He soon however varied his lay to ’whip te wo 
wee, the last syllable but one considefably lengthened and 
clearly whistled. Such were the captious variations of 
this little quaint and peculiarly earnest musician, whose 
notes are probably almost continually varied. On the 6th 
of October, I still heard one of these wandering little min- 
strels, who, at intervals, had for several weeks visited the 
garden, probably in quest of berries. His short, quaint, 
and more guttural song, was now atshée-vait, (probably the 
attempt of a young bird.) As late as the 30th of October 
the White-Eyed Vireo still lingered around Cambridge, 
and, on the margin of a pond, surrounded by weeds and 
willows, he was actively employed in gleaning up insects 


WHITE EYED VIREO, OR FLYCATCHER, 349 


and their larve: and now, with a feebler tone of voice, 
warbled with uncommon sweetness, wholly different from 
his usual strain, sounding something like the sweet whis- 
perings of the Song Sparrow, at the present season, and 
was perhaps an attempt at mimickry. Occasionally, also, 
he blended in his harsher, scolding, or querulous mewing 
call. From this journal, it must be evident, that the pres- 
ent species retires no further for winter quarters than the 
southern parts of the United States, where many also 
breed, as would appear, from the concomitant circum- 
stance of their music; nor is it at all improbable that the 
species may likewise inhabit the maritime parts of Mexico, 
as well as Louisiana. Audubon met with it at Galveston 
Island in Texas, in winter, and in summer it is occasion- 
ally found as far as Nova Scotia. Mr. Townsend also 
observed it on the Pacific side of the continent, on the 
banks of the Columbia. 

This species, like the rest, builds commonly a pensile 
nest, suspended by the upper edge of the two sides on the 
circular bend, often, of the smilax or green briar vine. 
It is composed of slender twigs, grassy fibres, pieces of 
paper, sometimes newspapers, or fragments of hornets’ 
nests; the interior is lined with slender root fibres. The 
whole fabric appears to me, as far as my opportunities 
have extended, like the Cat-Bird’s nest in miniature. 
The eggs are 4 or 5, white, marked at the larger end 
with a few small spots of blackish brown. In the Middle 
States they often raise 2 broods in the season, generally 
make choice of thorny thickets for their nest, and show 
much concern when it is approached, descending within a 
few feet of the intruder, looking down, and hoarsely mew- 
ing and scolding with great earnestness. This petulant 
display of irritability is also continued when the brood are 
approached, though as large and as active as their vigilant 


30 


350 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


and vociferous parents. In the Middle States this is a 
common species, but in Massachusetts rather rare. Its 
food, like the rest of the Vireos, is insects and various 
kinds of berries; for the former of which it hunts with 
great agility, attention, and industry. 


The White-Eye is 5 inches long, and 7 in extent; wings and tail 
dusky brown, edged with olive-green, the latter forked. Bill, legs, 
and feet light bluish-grey ; the sides of the neck incline to greyish- 
ash. Female and young scarcely distinguishable in plumage from the 
male. 


WARBLING VIREO. 


(Vireo gilvus, Bonar. Avp. 1. pl. 118. Orn. Biog. 2. p. 114. Musci- 
capa gilva, ViEILL. M. melodia, Witson, v. p. 85. pl. 42. fig. 2.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Pale green olive; head and neck dilute ash-color ; 
beneath and line over the eye, whitish; wings pale dusky brown, 
without bands ; irids brown; Ist and 5th primaries about equal ; 
tail extending more than an inch beyond the closed wings. 


Tus sweetest and most constant warbler of the forest, 
extending his northern migrations to the confines of Can- 
ada, and along the coast of the Pacific to the Oregon, ar- 
rives from tropical America in Pennsylvania about the 
middle of April, and reaches this part of New England 
early in May. His livery, like that of the Nightingale, is 
plain and unadorned ; but the sweet melody of his voice, 
surpassing, as far as nature usually surpasses art, the ten- 
derest airs of the flute, poured out often from the rising 
dawn of day to the approach of evening, and vigorous 
even during the sultry heat of noon, when most other birds 
are still, gives additional interest to this little vocalist. 
While chanting forth his easy, flowing, tender airs, appa- 
rently without effort, so contrasted with the interrupted 


WARBLING VIREO, 351 


emphatical song of the Red-Eye, he is gliding along the 
thick and leafy branches of our majestic Elms, and tallest 
trees, busied in quest of his restless insect prey. With us, 
as in Pennsylvania, the species is almost wholly confined to 
our villages, and even cities. They are rarely ever observed 
in the woods; but from the tall trees which decorate the 
streets and lanes, the almost invisible musician, secured 
from the enemies of the forest, is heard to cheer the house 
and cottage with his untiring song. As late as the 2d of 
October I still distinguished his tuneful voice from amidst 
the yellow fading leaves of the linden, near which he had 
passed away the summer. The approaching dissolution of 
those delightful connections, which had been cemented by 
affection, and the cheerless stillness of autumn, still called 
up a feeble and plaintive reverie. Some days after this 
late period, warmed by the mild rays of the morning sun, 
I heard, as it were, faintly warbled, a parting whisper ; 
and about the middle of this month, our vocal woods and 
fields were once more left in dreary silence. 


“‘ And through the sadden’d grove [now] scarce is heard 
One dying strain, to cheer the woodman’s toil. 
While congregated Thrushes, Linnets, Larks, 
And each wild throat, whose artless strains so late 
Swell’d all the music of the swarming shades, 
Robb’d of their tuneful [songs], now shivering sit 
On the dead tree, a dull, despondent flock ; 


With nought save [plaintive] discord in their note.” 
* * * * * * 


The Warbling Vireo is indeed allied to the genus of the 
Nightingale (Sylvia), whose song, from the description of 
Mr. White in his Natural History of Selbourne, bears con- 
siderable resemblance to that of the Black-capt Flycatcher 
(Muscicapa albicollis of Temminck.) When offended or 
irritated, our bird utters an angry ’tshay ’tshay, like the 


oo2 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Cat-Bird and the other Vireos, and sometimes makes a 
loud snapping with his bill. The nest of the Warbling 
Vireo is generally pendulous, and ambitiously and securely 
suspended at great elevations. In our Elms I have seen 
one of these airy cradles at the very summit of one of the 
most gigantic, more than 100 feet from the ground. At 
other times they are not more than 50 to 70 feet high. 
The only nest I have been able to examine was made ex- 
ternally of flat and dry sedge-grass blades, for which, as I 
have observed, is occasionally substituted strings of bass. 
These dry blades and strips are confined and tied into the 
usual circular form by caterpulars’ silk, blended with bits 
of wool, silk-weed lint, and an accidental and sparing 
mixture of vernal-grass tops and old apple blossoms. It 
was then very neatly lined with the small flat blades of the 
meadow grass, called Poa compressa. 'The eggs, 4, on 
which the bird was already sitting, were pure white, with 
a few small blackish purple spots of two sizes, and some 
confluent, straggling, hair-like lines, disposed chiefly 
around the greater end. ‘The size of these eggs is very 
perceptibly smaller than those of the Red-Eyed Vireo, in 
one of whose nests [ have seen two eggs of this species 
deposited, as well as one laid by the Cow Troopial! an 
accidental parasitic practice, urged probably by the neglect 
of not providing a nest for the immediate occasion. 


The length of this bird is about 5 inches. Above pale olive-green, 
much mixed with ash on the neck and shoulders. Line over the 
eye and lower parts whitish ; near the breast and sides under the 
wings tinged with pale-greenish yellow. Wings greyish-brown, 
edged with pale olive-green, inclining to grey. The tail also simi- 
larly edged, and slightly forked. Legs, feet, and bill above, lead- 
color; the lower mandible pale flesh-color. Iris dark hazel. The 
sexes nearly alike. 


RED-EYED VIREO, or GREENLET. 


(Vireo olivaceus, Bonar. Avp. pl. 150. Orn. Biog. 2. p. 287. Muscicapa 
olivacea, Lin. Wixson, ii. p. 55. pl. 12. fig. 3. Philad. Museum, No. 
6675. 

Spec. Cuaract. — Yellow-olive ; crown ash, with a dark lateral line; 
line over the eye, and all beneath, whitish ; wings without bands ; 
irids red; 1st primary much longer than the dth.— Young with 
the eye dark hazel. 


Tuts common and indefatigable songster appears to 
inhabit every part of the American continent from Lab- 
rador to the large tropical islands of Jamaica and St. 
Domingo; they are likewise resident in the mild table 
Jand of Mexico.* ‘Those who pass the summer with us, 
however, migrate to the warmer regions at the com- 
mencement of winter, as none are found at that season 
within the limits of the United States. The Red-Eyed 
Vireo arrives in Pennsylvania late in April, and in New 
England about the beginning of May. It inhabits the 
shady forests or tall trees near gardens and the suburbs 
of villages, where its loud, lively, and energetic song is 


* Bullock’s memoirs on the birds of Mexico. 


30* 


354 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


often continued, with little intermission, for several hours 
at a time, as it darts and pries among the thick foliage in 
quest of insects and small caterpillars. From its first arri- 
val, until August, it is the most distinguished warbler of 
the forest, and when almost all the other birds have become 
mute, its notes are yet heard with unabated vigor. Even 
to the 5th of October, still enlivened by the feeble rays of 
the sun, he faintly recalls his song, and plaintively tunes 
a farewell to his native woods. His summer notes are 
uttered in short, emphatical bars, of 2 or 3 syllables, and 
have something in them like the simple lay of the Thrush 
or American Robin when he first earnestly and slowly 
commences his song. He often makes use, in fact, of the 
same expressions, but his tones are more monotonous as 
well as mellow and melodious, like the rest of the Vireos. 
In moist and dark summer weather, his voice seems to be 
one continued, untiring warble of exquisite sweetness ; and 
in the most populous and noisy streets of Boston, his shrill 
and tender lay is commonly heard from the tall Elms; and 
as the bustle of carts and carriages attempt to drown his 
voice, he elevates his pipe with more vigor and earnestness, 
as if determined to be heard in spite of every discord. 
The call of ‘* Whip-Tom-kelly,” attributed to this species 
by Sloane and even Wilson, I have never heard, and, com- 
mon as the species is throughout the Union, the. most lively 
or accidental fit of imagination never yet, in this country, 
conceived of such an association of sounds. I have al- 
ready remarked, indeed, that this singular call is, in fact, 
sometimes uttered by the Tufted Titmouse. When our 
Vireo sings slow enough to be distinctly heard, the follow- 
ing sweetly warbled phrases, variously transposed and 
tuned, may often be caught by the attentive listener : 
’tshooe peweé peeat musik ’du du ’du, ’tshoove ’hére *hére, 
hear here, ’k’ing ’ritshard, ’p’shégru ’tshevu, ’*tsheevoo 


RED-EYED VIREO, OR FLYCATCHER. 359 


*tshuvee peeart ’pérov. The whole delivered almost without 
any sensible interval, with earnest animation, in a pathetic, 
tender, and pleasing strain, well calculated to produce calm 
and thoughtful reflection in the sensitive mind. Yet while 
this heavenly reverie strikes on the human ear with such 
peculiar effect, the humble musician himself seems but little 
concerned ; for all the while, perhaps, that this flowing 
chorus enchants the hearer, he is casually hopping from 
spray to spray in quest of his active or crawling prey, and 
if a cessation occurs in his almost untiring lay, it is occa- 
sioned by the caterpillar or fly he has just fortunately cap- 
tured. So unaffected are these delightful efforts of instinct, 
and so unconscious is the performer, apparently, of this 
pleasing faculty bestowed upon him by nature, that he may 
truly be considered, as a messenger of harmony, to man 
alone. Wantonly to destroy these delightful aids to senti- 
mental happiness ought therefore to be viewed, not only as 
an act of barbarity, but almost as a sacrilege! 

The Red-Eye, in the Month of May, builds asmall, neat, 
pensile nest, suspended between the forked and depending 
twigs of some young and slender forest tree.* It is firmly 
attached by the whole of the 2 upper edges, and fixed at a 
height of from 4 or 5 to 20 feet from the ground. It is 
commenced by narrow loops of tenacious materials passed 
from twig to twig, which are successively increased in 
width to the size intended; the front is then carried up- 
wards in the same manner to complete the circular frame, 
the whole being sufficiently agglutinated into a thin pouch, ~ 
to which is attached all the other necessary parts of the 
fabric. The external circular layers or loops consist of 
thin strips of grape-vine, paper-birch, or red cedar bark, 


* These nests are chiefly made in the maple, beech, birch, oak, hornbeam, and 
tree cornel, (Cornus florida, L.) 


396 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


and bass, agglutinated together. These coarse materials 
are then well tied over each other, outside with slender 
strings of bass, and others of caterpillars’ webs, or the silk 
of cocoons of the larger moths, all rendered more or less 
manageable by the assistance of the adhesive saliva. Re- 
fractory fragments of rotten wood, coiled ends of white- 
birch bark, and spiders’ nests commonly remain outside, as 
if for ornament; but some of them are often only the extra 
remains of materials or their ends, parts of which are in- 
terwoven or filled into the nest. At other times the out- 
side appears wrought evenly, and without any attempt at 
fanciful decoration. The inside of the nest is closely and 
elegantly lined with fibrous grass, minute wiry leaf-stalks, 
and sometimes very slender hemlock fir twigs, but chiefly 
with fine, dry pine leaves, and almost similar minute strips 
or strings of grape-vine bark. These nests, like little cir- 
cular baskets, are put together with so much neatness and 
firmness, that they sometimes survive the action of the 
weather for a year; and Wilson knew an instance where 
the nest of the Yellow-bird was built in the cavity of one 
which had survived the season. When thus left, they are 
sometimes also taken possession of by the mice, who make 
use of other nests likewise for the same purpose. The 
eggs are about 3 or 4, white; with a few distinct small 
spots of blackish brown, of 2 shades, disposed at the 
greater end. They often raise 2 broods in the season. 
The Red-Eyed Vireo is one of the most favorite of all 
the adopted nurses of the Cow-bird, and the remarkable 
gentleness of its disposition and watchful affection for the 
safety of its young, or of the foundling confided to its care, 
amply justifies this selection of a foster parent. The 
male, indeed, defends his nest, while his mate is sitting, 
with as much spirit as the king-bird, driving away every 
intruder, and complaining in a hoarse mewing tone when 


RED EYED VIREO, OR FLYCATCHER. 307 


approached by any inquisitive observer. By accident, the 
eggs were destroyed in a nest of this species in the Bo- 
tanic Garden, in a sugar maple about 20 feet from the 
ground. At this time no complaints were heard, and the 
male sang all day as cheerful as before. In a few days, 
unwilling to leave the neighborhood, they had made a se- 
cond nest in a beech at the opposite side of the same prem- 
ises; but now the male drove away every intruder with 
the greatest temerity. The young of this species are often 
hatched in about 13 days, or 24 hours later than the para- 
sitic Troopial; but for want of room the smaller young 
are usually stifled or neglected. I have, however, seen in 
one nest a surviving bird of each kind in a fair way for 
being reared ; yet, by a singular infatuation, the supposi- 
titious bird appeared by far the most assiduously attended, 
and in this case the real young of the species seemed to 
be treated as puny foundlings. 

In the month of August, the young fed greedily on 
the small berries of the bitter cornel, and astringent 
Viburnum dentatum, as well as other kinds. One of these 
inexperienced birds hopped close round me in an adjoin- 
ing bush, without any fearful apprehension ; and, as late 
as the 26th of October, two young birds of the Red-Eye 
were still lingering in this vicinity, and busily engaged 
in gleaning subsistence. Eager after flies, about the 
25th of August, a young bird with hazel instead of red 
eyes, entered a chamber in the neighborhood, and became 
my inmate. I clipped his wing, and left him at large in a 
room; he soon became very gentle, took grasshoppers and 
flies out of my hand, eat Viburnum berries with a good ap- 
petite, and, in short, seemed pleased with his quarters. A 
fly could not stir but it was instantly caught; his only 
difficulty was with a lame King-bird who occupied the 
same apartment. ‘The king appeared very jealous of this 


358 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


little harmless companion; snapped his bill at him when 
he approached, and begrudged him subsistence, when he 
perceived that he fed on the same food with himself. At 
length, he would come to me for provision, and for protec- 
tion from his tyrannical associate. But the career of my 
interesting and lively companion was soon terminated by 
death, occasioned, in all probability, by a diarrheea, pro- 
duced in consequence of swallowing a small lock of hair 
with his food which was found in his stomach. This bird, 
very different from a Sylvia autumnalis, which I afterwards 
had in my possession, regurgitated by the bill, like the King- 
bird, pellets of the indigestible parts of his food, such as 
the legs and wings of grasshoppers and flies, and the skins 
and seeds of berries. Unlike the King-bird, in one partic- 
ular, however, he folded his head under his wing when at 
rest, and reposed with great soundness, whereas for eight 

months I was never able to detect the former asleep. | 


This species is about 54 inches long, alar extent 9. The crown 
deep ash, bordered on each side by a line of blackish, below which is 
a line of white passing a little beyond the eye; the bill rather long, 
dusky above, and pale below. Inner webs of the wings and tail 
dusky, the outer, like the rest of the upper parts, yellow olive, the 
folded wings extend within about half an inch of the tip of the tail. 
Beneath white, tinged on the breast and sides with pale yellow. Tail 
slightly forked. Legs and feet light bluish-grey. Iris of the adult 
red. In the female the colors are a little more obscure. 


BARTRAWM’S VIREO. 


wreo Bartramiz, SWAINS. AUD. Orn. Hiog. vy. p. . pl. - vureo- 
(Vireo B it, S Avp. Orn. Biog. v. p. 396. pl. 434. Vi 
sylva Bartramii, Bonar. Birds, &c., p. 26. [male].) 


Spec. Cuaract.— With the same plumage as that of the V. oliva- 
ceus, but brighter; wings shorter, more rounded; the Ist and 6th 
quills nearly equal, the 3d and 4th longest. 


LONG BILLED VIREO, 359 


A speciMEN Of this bird was procured by Mr. Douglass, 
on the banks of the Columbia. According to Swainson it 
exists also in Mexico, Brazil, and South Carolina. Audu- 
bon also found it in New Jersey and Kentucky, and con- 
siders it a species generally overlooked in America. He 
describes the nest as seldom being placed at a greater 
height than 4 feet from the ground. In two instances he 
found it attached to two strong blades of coarse grass, 
growing from beneath a thicket of brambles, not above 2 
feet from the earth. It is truly pensile, about 3 inches 
deep, and formed wholly of slender grasses and fibrous 
roots. The eggs are pure white, without any spots or 
dots. There is a greater difference as to color between 
the sexes of this species than those of the Red-eyed. The 
female is generally much less pure in its tints; while the 
males have usually much more of the yellowish tint on 
their upper and under plumage than is observed in the 
same sex of the other species. 


Length about 5 inches, and 73 in alar extent. Above light yellow- 
ish-olive. Tail wood brown, margined with paler. The lower parts 
white, the breast tinged with pale yellow ; throat and sides with grey. 
Bill brown above, pale bluish-grey beneath. Feet bluish-grey. In 
the V. olivaceus the 1st quill longer than the 5th, in the present the 
Ist is shorter than the Sth. 


LONG BILLED VIREO. 


(Vireo longirostris, Swainson, North. Zool. ii. p. 237. [in note.] Ep- 
WARDS, p. 93. pl. 253.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Plumage of V. olivaceus; the chin margined 
with a black line ; bill lengthened; wings short, when folded, not 
reaching to half the length of the tail; the 1st quill shorter than 
the 4th. 


360 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Tus species, entirely tropical, is found to be the true West India 
bird, known from its note by the name of Whip-Tom-Kelly. The V. 
olivaceus has never yet been found in those islands. According to 
Dr. Browne, who furnished Edwards with a specimen, from Jamaica, 
which he has published, “ it has not many notes but they are loud 
and sweet.” 


The size and general plumage is similar, according to Swainson, 
with that of a new species which he terms Vireo virescens as well as 
V. olivaceus, excepting that the colors are somewhat duller than those 
of the last: but it is essentially distinguished by a narrow line of 
dusky-black, which margins each side of the chin : — Total length 54 
inches ; the bill from the front six tenths of an inch; the wings 2 in- 
ches and seven-tenths; the tarsus seven-tenths of an inch. 


Oxzs. We have given this species a place in a note thus to complete 
the history of our own familiar Vireo and with a suspicion that it 
occasionally also strays into the forests of the Southern States. 


TURDINA. THRUSHES. 


Ix these birds the Brit is of moderate dimensions with cutting 
edges, and compressed and curved towards the point; the upper man- 
dible is generally notched towards the extremity, the lower round- 
ish; there are also a few scattered bristles near the opening of the 
bill. Nosrrits basal, lateral, rounded, and half closed by a naked 
membrane. Tongue fringed and notched at tip. Feet rather stout, 
the tarsus longer than the middle toe, which is attached at base to 
the outer one. Wings short or moderate ; the Ist primary short, or of 
moderate length ; 3d, 4th, or 5th primaries longest. Scapulars hardly 
longer than the secondaries. — The female and young differ little 
from the male. The young, however, are more spotted. The moult 
is annual. 

They generally live in pairs only during the period of reproduc- 
tion ; both sexes sometimes assist in incubation, and the male is often 
observed to feed his mate while thus engaged. They migrate in large 
companies, or remain sedentary in the warmer parts of Europe, and 
the milder states of the American union. They live on insects, 
worms, and berries, swallow earth and gravel to assist digestion, but 
disgorge the kernels and hard seeds of fruit, and are also easily fed 


TOWNSEND’S PTILOGONYS, 361 


on bread and other farinaceous food. They excel insong,and are the 
most powerful of feathered musicians. Their flesh is also esteemed 
(but their lives and labors to the husbandman are infinitely more val- 
uable.) Every country and climate possesses species of this interest- 
ing family. 


PTILOGONYS. (Swartnson) PTILOGONYS. 


Brix short, rather strong, somewhat triangular, depress- 
ed at the base, a little compressed at the end; upper man- 
dible with the dorsal line convex at the end, nasal groove 
wide, the sides convex towards the end, with a distinct 
notch, the tip short, and rather obtuse; lower mandible 
with the angle rather long and wide, the tip small, with a 
slight notch behind. Nostrils linear-oblong, partially con- 
cealed by the advancing feathers. Feet short and rather 
slender; tarsus shorter than the middle toe, compressed, 
covered anteriorly with a long plate and three inferior scu- 
tella; toes free; hind toe stouter. Slight bristles at the 
base of the upper mandible. Wings long, rounded; Ist 
quill very small, 4th longest. ‘Tail very long, emarginate, 
of 12 feathers. 

This genus seems to connect the Thrushes with the Fly- 
catchers. 


TOWNSEND’S PTILOGONYS. 


(Ptilogonys Townsendi, Avup. pl. 419. fig. 2. [female.] Orn. Biog. 

5. p. 206.) 

Tue only individual yet known was shot by Captain 
Brotchie, in the Hudson’s Bay service, in the neighbor- 
*o0d of Fort George, (Astoria) and presented to Mr. 

dL 


“> INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Townsend, who transmitted it, with his other rare birds, to 
Mr. Audubon. 


Female. — Length 84 inches, the wing 44. General color dull 
brownish-grey ; edge of the wing dull white ; basal part of the pri- 
maries pale yellow, of the secondaries ochre-yellow ; secondaries with 
a faint patch of light brownish-grey on the outer web toward the 
end; middle tail feathers greyish-brown, the rest blackish brown, the 
outer with an oblique white space ; the next with a terminal spot of 
white ; below paler ; lower tail and wing-coverts broadly tipped with 
dull white, some of the inner wing-coverts also white. 


MIMUS. (Borzr.) MOCKING THRUSH. 


Wiru the bill elongated and considerably curved through- 
out ; first quill very small, 4th and 5th longest. In these 
the voice is powerful and eminently melodious, and they 
display usually a talent for mimickry. By the uniformity 
of their haunts, they live apparently paired for several 
seasons, and evince more sagacity and intelligence than 
any other musical birds hitherto known. 


THE MOCKING BIRD. 


(Mimus polyglottus, Boiz. Turdus polyglottus, Lin. WiLson, ii. p. 13. 
pl. 10. fig. 1. Avupuson, pl. 21. [a spirited group and nest attacked 
by a Rattle Snake.] Orpheus polyglottus, Swainson. Philad. 
Museum, No. 5288.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Cinereous ; beneath whitish; tips of the wing- 
coverts, primaries at base, and lateral tail-feathers, white ; tail 
cuneiform. 


Tuts unrivalled Orpheus of the forest, and natural 
wonder of America, inhabits the whole continent, from 
the state of Rhode Island to the larger isles of the West 
Indies, and continuing through the equatorial regions, is 
found in the southern hemisphere as far as Brazil. Nor 
is it at all confined to the Eastern or Atlantic states. It 
also exists in the wild territory of Arkansa more than a 


364 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


thousand miles from the mouth of Red River; and I have 
since seen it in the scanty forests of Upper California. It 
breeds at the distant western sources of the Platte, near 
the base of the Rocky Mountains,* as well as in Texas; 
and Mr. Bullock saw it in the table land of Mexico. The 
Mocking Bird rears its young, and consequently displays 
its wonderful powers, in all the intermediate regions of its 
residence in the United States to the peninsula of Florida.7 
It appears, in short, permanently to inhabit the milder 
regions of the western world in either hemisphere ;¢ and 
the individuals bred north of the Delaware, on this side 
the equator, are all that ever migrate from their summer 
residence. A still more partial migration takes place also, 
probably, from west to east, in quest of the food and shel- 
ter which the maritime districts afford. Though now so 
uncommon in that vicinity, 50 or 60 years ago, according 
to Bartram, they even wintered near Philadelphia, and 
made a temporary abode in the mantling ivy of his ven- 
erable mansion. In summer, a few proceed as far as Rhode 
Island, following the mild temperature of the sea-coast ; 
but further north, they are, I believe, nearly unknown, 
except rarely and occasionally in Massachusetts near the 
sea. With the advance of the season, also, in the country 
which it inhabits, varies the time of incubation. Larly in 
April they begin to build in the maritime parts of Georgia, 
but not before the middle of May in Pennsylvania. 

In the winter season they chiefly subsist on berries, 
particularly those of the Virginia juniper (called red 
cedar), wax myrtle, holly, smilax, sumach, sour-gum, and 
a variety of others, which furnish them, and many other 


* Mr. Say. + Mr. Ware. 
t Mr. Litchfield informs me, that the song of the Mocking-Bird is commonly 
heard in Venezuela, where of course it breeds and permanently resides. 


MOCKING BIRD. 365 


birds, with a plentiful repast. Insects, worms, grasshoppers, 
and larve, are the food on which they principally subsist, 
when so eminently vocal, and engaged in the task of rear- 
ing their young. In the Southern States, where they are 
seldom molested, with ready sagacity they seem to court 
the society of man, and fearlessly hop around the roof of 
the house, or fly before the planter’s door. When a dwel- 
ling is first settled in the wilderness, this bird is not seen 
sometimes in the vicinity for the first year; but, at length, 
he pays his welcome visit to the new comer, gratified with 
the little advantages he discovers around him, and seeking 
out also the favor and fortuitous protection of human 
society. He becomes henceforth familiar, and only quar- 
rels with the cat and dog, whose approach he instinctively 
dreads near his nest, and never ceases his complaints and 
attacks until they retreat from his sight. 

On the 26th of February I first heard the Mocking-Bird, 
that season, in one of the prairies of Alabama. He began 
by imitating the Carolina Woodpecker, tshooai tshooai: 
*tshow ’tshow ’tshow ; then, in the same breath, the szwectoot 
sweetoot of the Carolina Wren; by and by, woolit woolit tu 
tu of the Cardinal bird, and the péto péto péto of the 
Tufted Titmouse, with connecting tones of his own, uttered 
with an expression so refined and masterly, as if he aimed, 
by this display of his own powers, to make those inferior 
vocalists ashamed of their song. It was truly astonishing, 
what a tender sweetness he contrived to blend amidst notes 
so harsh and dissonant as those of the Woodpecker, which 
ever and anon, made, now, the chorus of his varied and 
fantastic song. In the lower parts of Georgia, by the 
beginning of March, they are already heard vying with 
each other, and with the Brown Thrush, rendering the 
new-clad forest vocal with the strains of their powerful 


melody. 
3l* 


366 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


Like the Ferruginous Thrush, to which he is so nearly 
related, the Mocking-Bird chooses a solitary briar-bush 
or a thicket for his nest; sometimes an orchard tree con- 
tiguous to the house is selected for the purpose, at little 
more than the height of a man from the ground. The 
composition of this cradle of his species is, generally, an 
external mass of dry twigs, leaves, and grass, blended with 
bits of decayed wood, and then surmounted with a thick 
layer or lining of root-fibres of a light brown color. The 
eggs are about 4 or 5, pale green, with blotches of brown 
scattered nearly all over. ‘The female sits 14 days, usu- 
ally producing two broods in a season, and is often assidu- 
ously fed, while so engaged, by the attentive male. She is 
jealous of her nest, and complains with a mournful note, 
their usual low call, when her eggs have been touched, 
but does not readily abandon the spot she has once chosen.* 
None of the domestic animals, or man himself, but partic- 
ularly the cat and dog, can approach, during the period of 
incubation, without receiving an attack from these affec- 
tionate guardians of their brood. ‘Their most insidious 
and deadly enemies, however, are reptiles, particularly the 
black snake, who spares neither the eggs nor young. As 
soon as his fatal approach is discovered by the male, he 
darts upon him without hesitation, eludes his bites, and 
striking him about the head, and particularly the eyes, 
where most vulnerable, he soon succeeds in causing him 
to retreat, and by redoubling his blows, in spite of all pre- 
tended fascination, the wily monster often falls a victim to 
his temerity ; and the heroic bird, leaving his enemy dead 
on the field he provoked; mounts on the bush above his 
affectionate mate and brood, and in token of victory cele- 
brates his loudest song. 


* AupvUEON, Orn. Biog. vol. i. p. 111. 


MOCKING-BIRD. 367 


The Mocking-bird, like the Nightingale, is destitute of 
brilliant plumage, but his form is beautiful, delicate, and 
symmetrical in its proportions. His motions are easy, 
rapid, and graceful, perpetually animated with a playful 
caprice, and a look that appears full of shrewdness and 
intelligence. He listens with silent attention to each pass- 
ing sound, treasures up lessons from every thing vocal, 
and is capable of imitating with exactness, both in meas- 
ure and accent, the notes of all the feathered race. And, 
however wild and discordant the tones and calls may be, 
he contrives with an Orphean talent, peculiarly his own, 
to infuse into them that sweetness of expression, and _ har- 
monious modulation which characterizes this inimitable 
and wonderful composer. With the dawn of morning, 
while yet the sun lingers below the blushing horizon, our 
sublime songster, in his native wilds, mounted on the top- 
most branch of a tall bush or tree in the forest, pours out 
his admirable song, which, amidst the multitude of notes 
from all the warbling host, still rises preéminent, so that 
his solo is heard alone, and all the rest of the musical choir 
appear employed in mere accompaniments to this grand 
actor in the sublime opera of nature. Nor is his talent 
confined to imitation; his native notes are also bold, full, 
and perpetually varied, consisting of short expressions of a 
few variable syllables, interspersed with imitations, and ut- 
tered with great emphasis and volubility, sometimes for half 
an hour at a time, with undiminished ardor. These native 
strains bear a considerable resemblance to those of the 
Brown Thrush, to whom he is so nearly related in form, 
habits, and manners ; but, like rude from cultivated genius, 
his notes are distinguished by the rapidity of their delivery, 
their variety, sweetness, and energy. As if conscious of 
his unrivalled powers of song, and animated by the har- 
mony of his own voice, his music is, as it were, accom- 


368 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


panied by chromatic dancing and expressive gestures; 
he spreads and closes his light and fanning wings, expands 
his silvered tail, and, with buoyant gayety and enthusiastic 
ecstasy, he sweeps around, and mounts and descends into 
the air from his lofty spray, as his song swells to loudness, 
or dies away in sinking whispers. While thus engaged, so 
various is his talent, that it might be supposed a trial of 
skill from all the assembled birds of the country; and so 
perfect are his imitations, that even the sportsman is at 
times deceived, and sent in quest of birds that have no ex- 
istence around him. The feathered tribes themselves are 
decoyed by the fancied call of their mates; or dive with 
fear into the close thicket, at the well-feigned scream of 
the hawk. 

Soon reconciled to the usurping fancy of man, the 
Mocking-bird often becomes familiar with his master; 
playfully attacks him through the bars of his cage, or at 
large in aroom; restless and capricious, he seems to try 
every expedient of a lively imagination, that may conduce 
to his amusement. Nothing escapes his discerning and 
intelligent eye or faithful ear. He whistles perhaps for the 
dog, who, deceived, runs to meet his master; the cries of 
the chicken in distress bring out the clucking mother to 
the protection of her brood. The barking of the dog, the 
piteous wailing of the puppy, the mewing of the cat, the 
action of a saw, or the creaking of a wheelbarrow, quickly 
follow with exactness. He repeats a tune of considera- 
ble length; imitates the warbling of the Canary, the lisp- 
ing of the Indigo bird, and the mellow whistle of the 
Cardinal, in a manner so superior to the originals, that 
mortified and astonished, they withdraw from his presence, 
or listen in silence, as he continues to triumph by renew- 
ing his efforts. 

In the cage also, nearly as in the woods, he is full of life 


MOCKING BIRD. 369 


and action, while engaged in song; throwing himself 
round with inspiring animation, and, as it were, moving in 
time to the melody of his own accents. Even the hours of 
night, which consign nearly all other birds to rest and 
silence, like the Nightingale, he oft employs in song, ser- 
enading the houseless hunter and silent cottager to repose, 
as the rising moon illumines the darkness of the shadowy 
scene. His capricious fondness for contrast and perpetual 
variety appears to deteriorate his powers. His lofty imita- 
tions of the musical Brown Thrush are perhaps interrupted 
by the crowing of the cock, or the barking of the dog; 
the plaintive warblings of the Blue-bird are then blended 
with the wild scream and chatter of the Swallow, or the 
cackling of the hen; amid the simple lay of the native 
Robin, we are surprised with the vociferations of the 
Whip-poor-will ; while the notes of the garrulous Jay, 
Kildeer, Woodpecker, Wren, fifing Baltimore, and many 
others succeed, with such an appearance of reality, that we 
almost imagine ourselves in the presence of the originals, 
and can scarcely realize the fact, that the whole of this 
singular concert is the effort of a single bird. Indeed, it 
is impossible to listen to these Orphean strains, when de- 
livered by a superior songster in his native woods, without 
being deeply affected, and almost riveted to the spot, by 
the complicated feelings of wonder and delight, in which, 
from the graceful and sympathetic action, as well as en- 
chanting voice of the performer, the eye is no less gratified 
than the ear. It is, however, painful to reflect, that these 
extraordinary powers of nature, exercised with so much 
generous freedom in a state of confinement, are not cal- 
culated for long endurance, and after this most wonderful 
and interesting prisoner has survived for six or seven years, 
blindness often terminates his gay career; and thus shut 
out.from the cheering light, the solace of his lonely but 


370 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


active existence, he now, after a time, droops in silent sad- 
ness and dies. 

Successful attempts have been made to breed this bird 
in confinement by allowing them retirement and a suffi- 
ciency of room. Those which have been taken in trap- 
cages are accounted the best singers, as they come from 
the school of nature, and are taught their own wild wood 
notes. ‘The prices of these invaluable songsters are as 
variable as their acquired or peculiar powers, and are from 
5 to 50 dollars; even a hundred has been refused for an 
extraordinary individual. The food of the young is thick- 
ened meal and water, or meal and milk, mixed occasion- 
ally with tender fresh meat, minced fine. Animal food, 
almost alone, finely divided and soaked in milk, is at first 
the only nutritive food suited for raising the tender nurs- 
lings. Young and old require berries of various kinds, 
from time to time, such as cherries, strawberries, whortle- 
berries, &c., and, in short, any kind of wild fruits of which 
they are fond, if not given too freely, are useful. A few 
grasshoppers, beetles, or any insects conveniently to be 
had, as well as gravel, are also tiecessary ; and spiders will 
often revive them when drooping or sick. 

The young male bird, which must be selected as a 
singer, may be distinguished by the breadth and purity of 
the white on the wings. This white spot, in a full grown 
male, spreads over the whole 9 primaries, down to, and 
considerably below their coverts, which are also white, 
sometimes slightly tipt with brown. The white of the pri- 
maries, also, extends to the same distance on both vanes of 
the feathers. Inthe female, the white is less clear, spreads 
only over 7 or 8 of the primaries, does not descend so far, 
and extends considerably farther down on the broad than 
on the narrow side of the feathers. The black is also 
more inclined to brown. 


MOUNTAIN MOCKING-BIRD. 371 


The length of the Mocking-bird is 93 inches, and 13 in alar extent. 
Individuals of the first brood in the season are larger and more ro- 
bust than those produced later. Above ash-color, at length inclined 
to brown. The wings and tail nearly black, the first and second rows 
of coverts tipt with white ; the primary coverts in some males are 
wholly white, in others tinged with brown. ‘The 3 first primaries are 
white from their roots as far as their coverts ; the white on the next 6 
extends from an inch to 13 farther down, and equally on both sides of 
the feather. The tail is wedge-shaped, the 2 outer feathers white, 
the rest, except the middle ones, tipt with white. Chin white; the 
remaining parts below, a brownish white, and clearer in wild than 
domesticated birds. Iris inclining to golden, but lighter. Bill, legs, 
and feet black ; the base of the lower mandible whitish. The differ- 
ence in the female is already given. The breast of the young is 
spotted like that of the Thrush. 


MOUNTAIN MOCKING-BIRD. 


(Mimus montanus, Bonar. Orpheus montanus, TownsEND, Journ. 
Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil. vol. 7. p. 192. Aup. Orn. Biog. 4. p. 487. pl. 
269.) 


Spec. Cuaract, — Greyish-brown ; beneath and chin whitish; spot- 
ted nearly to the vent; three lateral tail feathers on either side, 
with a white subterminal spot. 


On the arid plains of the central table land, betwixt the 
northern sources of the Platte and the Colorado of the 
West, in the month of June, we frequently heard the 
cheering song of this delightful species, whose notes con- 
siderably resemble those of the Brown Thrush, with some 
of the imitative powers of the Mocking-bird. For a great 
part of the day, and especially early and late, its song re- 
sounds through the desert plains, as it warbles to its mate 
from some tall weed or bush of wormwood, and continues 
with little interruption nearly for an hour at atime. We 
met with it in the plains exclusively, till our arrival at 


372 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Walla Walla, but we are not certain of having seen it in 
any part of Upper California, it being, apparently, entirely 
confined to the cooler and open plains of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Just before arriving at Sandy River of the Colora- 
do, while resting for refreshment at noon, I had the good 
fortune to find the nest in a wormwood bush, on the mar- 
gin of a ravine, near which the male was singing with his 
usual energy. It contained 4 almost emerald green eggs, 
spotted with dark olive of two shades, more numerous 
towards the greater end, spots large and roundish. The 
nest was made of small twigs and rough stalks, lined with 
strips of bark and Bison wood. The female flew off to a 
short distance, and looked on her unwelcome visitors, 
without uttering either call or complaint. 


Length 8 inches; wing from the flexure about 3% inches; tail 33 
inches. First quill short, the 3d and 4th longest. Tail long and 
rounded. Bill dark brown, the base of the lower mandible paler. 
Feet yellowish-brown. Above greyish-brown, the tips of the secon- 
dary coverts, the edges of the primaries, and a large spot at the end 
of the three lateral tail-feathers, white; the lower parts whitish, 
marked with triangular dusky spots, of which there is a distinct line 
from the base of the bill; throat, middle of the breast, abdomen and 
lower tail-coverts unspotted. — Bill of moderate length, rather slender, 
compressed, straightish, and pointed. 


FERRUGINOUS THRUSH, or THRASHER. 


(Mimus rufus, Bonar. Turdus rufus, Lin. Witson. Am. Orn. ii. p. 83. 
pl. 14. fig. 1. Aup. pl. 116. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 102. Phil. Museum, 
No. 5285.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Reddish-brown; beneath whitish, spotted with 
black; tail very long and rounded; wings with 2 whitish bands; 
the bill long and without notch. 


Tuis large and well known songster, inferior to none 
but the Mocking-bird in musical talent, is found in every 


FERRUGINOUS THRUSH, OR THRASHER. 373 


part of this continent, from Hudson’s Bay to the shores of 
the Mexican Gulf, breeding in all the intermediate space, 
though more abundantly towards the north. ‘They retire 
to the south, early in October, in the states north of the 
Carolinas, and probably extend their migrations at this 
season through the warmer regions towards the borders of 
the tropics. 

From the 15th of April to early in May they begin to 
revisit the Middle and Northern States, keeping puce, in 
some measure, with the progress of vegetation and the 
comparative advancement of the season. ‘They appear 
always to come in pairs, so that their mutual attachment 
is probably more durable than the season of incubation. 
Stationed on the top of some tall orchard or forest tree, 
the male, gay and animated, salutes the morn of his 
arrival with his loud and charming song. His voice, 
somewhat resembling that of the Thrush of Europe, but 
far more varied and powerful, rises preéminent amidst all 
the vocal choir of the forest. His music has the full 
charm of innate originality; he takes no delight in mim- 
ickry, and has therefore no title to the name of Mocking- 
bird.* On his first appearance, he falters in his song, 
like the Nightingale, but when his mate commences her 
cares and labors, his notes attain all their vigor and 
variety. The young birds, even of the first season, 
in a state of solitary domestication, without the aid of 
the parent’s voice, already whisper forth in harmonious 
reverie the pathetic and sweet warble, instinctive to the 
species.. In the month of May, while the blooming or- 
chards perfume and decorate the landscape, the enchant- 
ing voice of the Thrasher, in his affectionate lay, seems 
to give grateful utterance for the bounty and teeming 


* He is called in the Southern States, the French Mocking-bird. 


32 


374 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


profusion of nature, and falls in pleasing unison with the 
harmony and beauty of the season. 

From the beginning tothe middle of May the Thrasher 
is engaged in building his nest, selecting for this pur- 
pose usually a low, thick bush, in some retired thicket or 
swamp, a few feet from the earth, and sometimes even on 
the ground, in some sheltered tussuck, or near the root 
of abush. It has a general resemblance to the nest of 
the Cat-bird: outwardly being made of small interlacing 
twigs, then layers of dry oak or beech leaves, either whole 
or dissected. ‘To these materials usually succeeds a stra- 
tum of strips of grape-vine or red cedar bark, and with 
them I have once seen a piece of old tape, collected pro- 
bably from the vicinity of some cottage ; over the whole is 
piled a mass of coarse root-fibres, often of a dark color, 
and the finishing lining is made of a finer layer of the same. 
The eggs, never exceeding 5, are thickly and very ele- 
gantly sprinkled all over with minute spots of palish 
brown, on a greenish white ground. In the Middle 
States they have probably two broods in the season ; here 
seldom more than one. ‘They display the most ardent 
affection for their young; attacking snakes, dogs, and 
cats in their defence. One of the parents, usually the 
male, seems almost continually occupied, in guarding 
against any dangerous intruder. The cat is attacked 
commonly at a considerable distance from the young, 
and the woods echo with his plantive yé-dw, yé-dw, and 
the low, guttural, angry *tsh ’tsh ’tsh ’tsh. ‘The enemy is 
thus pursued off the field, commonly with success, as 
guilty grimalkin appears to understand the threatening 
gestures and complaints with which she Is so incessantly 
assailed. ‘Towards their more insidious enemies of the 
human species, when approaching the helpless or unfledged 
young, every art is displayed; threats, entreaties, and 


FERRUGINOUS THRUSH, OR THRASHER. 375 


reproaches, the most pathetic and powerful, are tried in 
no equivocal strain; they dart at the ravisher in wild 
despair, and lament, in the most touching strains of sor- 
row, the bereavement they suffer. I know of nothing 
equal to the burst of grief manifested by these affectionate 
parents, excepting the afflicting accents of suffering hu- 
manity. 

Their food consists of worms and insects generally ; 
also caterpillars, beetles, and other coleopterous tribes, 
as well as various kinds of berries. In the month of 
January I observed this Thrush and the Mocking-bird 
feed on the berries of the sumach. Sometimes they 
raise up a few grains of planted corn, but this is more 
the effect of caprice than appetite, as the search for 
grubworms is what commonly induces this resort to 
scratching up the soil. The Thrasher is an active, watch- 
ful, shy, and vigorous species, generally flying low, dwell- 
ing among thickets, and skipping from bush to bush, with 
his long tail sometimes spread out like a fan. About the 
first week in October after moulting, they disappear for the 
season, and pass the winter in the Southern States. By 
the middle of February, or early in March, they already 
display their vocal powers in the warmer parts of Georgia 
and West Florida. They are easily reared, and become 
very familiar and amusing companions, showing a strong 
attachment to the hand that feeds and protects them. In 
their manners, intelligence, song, and sagacity, they nearly 
approach to the Mocking-bird, being equally playfal, ca- 
pricious, petulant, and affectionate.* 


The Brown Thrush is 114 inches long, and 13 in alar extent. The 
whole upper parts are of a bright reddish-brown; the wings are 
crossed with 2 bars of whitish, relieved with black. Tail very long, 


* For additional traits of this species, see the Introduction. 


376 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


rounded at the end, broad, and of the same color with the back. 
Below yellowish-white, with the breast and sides marked with long 
pointed or pencillate dusky spots. Bill without notch; black 
above, whitish below near the base. Legs dusky brownish. Iris 
yellow, (much paler in the young bird.) In the female the white 
bars on the wing are narrower, and the spots on the breast smaller. 


erent 


CAT-BIRD. 


(Mimus felivor. Bonar. Turdus felivor, View. Aun. pl. 128. T. 
lividus, Wiison, ii. p. 90. pl. 20. fig. 3. Phil. Museum, No. 6770.) 


Sp. Cuaract.— Dark slate color, paler beneath; the vent rufous ; 
the crown and tail black, the latter rounded. 


Tuts quaint and familiar songster passes the winter in 
the southern extremities of the United States, and along 


CAT-BIRD. 377 


the coast of Mexico, from whence, as early as February, 
they arrive in Georgia. About the middle of April they 
are first seen in Pennsylvania, and at length leisurely ap- 
proach this part of New England, by the close of the first 
or beginning of the second week in May. They continue 
their migration also to Canada; where they proceed into 
the fur-countries as far as the 45th parallel, arriving on 
the banks of the Saskatchewan, about the close of May. 
They are said also to inhabit Kamtschatka, and conse- 
quently penetrate very far to the north. Throughout this 
extent, and to the territory of the Mississippi, they like- 
wise pass the period of incubation and rearing their young. 
They remain in New England till about the middle of 
October, at which time the young feed principally upon 
wild berries. 

The Cat-bird often tunes his cheerful song before the 
break of day, hopping from bush to bush, with great agility 
after his insect prey, while yet scarcely distinguishable 
amidst the dusky shadows of the dawn. The notes of dif- 
ferent individuals vary considerably, so that sometimes his 
song, in sweetness and compass, is scarcely at all inferior 
to that of the Ferruginous Thrush. A quaintness, how- 
ever, prevails in all his efforts, and his song is frequently 
made up of short and blended imitations of other birds, 
given, however, with great emphasis, melody, and variety 
of tone; and, like the Nightingale, invading the hours of 
repose, in the late twilight of a summer’s evening, when 
scarce another note is heard, but the hum of the drowsy 
beetle, his music attains its full effect, and often rises and 
falls with all the swell and studied cadence of finished har- 
mony. During the heat of the day, or late in the morning, 
the variety of his song declines, or he pursues his employ- 
ment in silence and retirement. 


About the 25th of May, one of these familiar birds came 
o2* 


378 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


into the Botanic Garden, and took up his summer abode 
with us. Soon after his arrival he called up in low whis- 
perings the notes of the Whip-poor-will, the Red-bird, the 
peto peto of the Tufted Titmouse, and other imitations of 
southern birds, which he had collected on his leisurely 
route from the south. He also soon mocked the ’tshe-yah 
’tshe-yah of the little Acadian Flycatchers, with which the 
neighborhood now abounded. He frequently answered to 
my whistle in the garden, was very silent during the period 
of incubation, and expressed great anxiety and complaint 
on my approaching the young after their leaving the nest. 
According to Latham, the Cat-bird is also capable of imi- 
tating the variable airs of instrumental music, and will 
sometimes mimic the cry of chickens so as to deceive and 
distress the hen that attends them. 

One of the most remarkable propensities of the Cat-bird, 
and to which it owes its name, is the unpleasant, loud, and 
grating cat-like mew ("pdy, ‘pay, “pdy), which it often 
utters, on being approached or offended. As the irritation 
increases, this note becomes more hoarse, reiterated, and 
vehement ; and sometimes this petulance and anger are car- 
ried so far, as to persecute every intruder who approaches 
the premises. ‘This temper often prevails after the young 
are fledged, and though originating, no doubt, in parental 
anxiety, it sometimes appears to outlive that season, and 
occasionally becomes such an annoyance, that a revengeful 
and fatal blow from a stick or stone, is but too often, with 
the thoughtless and prejudiced, the reward of this harmless 
and capricious provocation. At such times, with little ap- 
parent cause, the agitation of the bird is excessive, she hur- 
ries backward and forward, with hanging wings, and open 
mouth, mewing and screaming in a paroxysm of scolding 
anger, and alighting almost to peck the very hand that of- 
fers the insult. To touch a twig or branch in any part of 


~ 


CAT-BIRD. 379 


the garden or wood is often amply sufficient to call down 
the amusing termagant. This harmless excess, and simu- 
lation of grimalkin’s tone, that wizard animal, so much 
disliked by many, are unfortunate associations in the cry 
of the Cat-bird; and thus coupled with an ill name, this 
delightful and familiar songster, who seeks out the very 
society of man, and reposes an unmerited confidence in 
his protection, is treated with undeserved obloquy and 
contempt. The flight of the Cat-bird is laborious, and 
usually continued only from bush to bush; his progress, 
however, is very wily, and his attitudes and jerks amusingly 
capricious. He appears to have very little fear of enemies, 
often descends to the ground in quest of insects, and 
though almost familiar, is very quick in his retreat from 
real danger. 

This common and abundant species begins to construct 
its nest some time in the month of May. The situation, 
in which he delights to dwell, is commonly a dark thicket, 
in the woods, or close bush in some recluse part of the 
garden, at the distance of 5 to 10 feet from the ground, 
according to the convenience of the situation. The ma- 
terials are coarse but substantial ; the external part is com- 
monly made of small interlaced twigs, old grass, and dry 
leaves ; to these succeed thin strips of bark, often of the red 
cedar, somewhat agglutinated. The inside is lined and 
bedded with black root-fibres of ferns; other accidental 
materials sometimes make a fantastic part of the fabric. 
One has been known to carry away an edging of lace 
which was missed, and at length again recovered after the 
rearing of the brood, whose dainty bed it assisted to form. 
I have frequently found in the external coat of the nest, 
the cast off skins of snakes, more rarely bits of newspa- 
pers, wood shavings, strings, and bass-mat strips. The 
eggs are 4 or 5, of a bright and deep emerald green, and 


380 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


without spots. According to the time of their arrival they 
raise two or even three broods in the season. The Cat- 
bird is not easily induced to forsake its nest. Wilson re- 
moved one containing 4 eggs, nearly hatched, from a 
grape-vine into a thicket of briars close by, which was 
soon occupied by the female, as if nothing had happened 
to it. Other birds’ eggs, those of the Thrasher, and 
young of the same species, were instantly turned out of 
the nest in which they had been placed. Yet the male, 
divesting himself of selfish jealousy, observing the distress 
and helplessness of the young thus dislodged by his mate, 
began to feed them as his own. Their sagacity is there- 
fore superior to that of the ordinary Thrushes, as the 
Turdus Wilsonii is even one of the duped nurses occa- 
sionally employed by the Cow-Bird. 

The food of the Cat-bird is similar to that of the pre- 
ceding species, being insects and worms, particularly 
beetles, and various garden fruits; feeding its young often 
on cherries, and various kinds of berries. Sometimes 
they are observed to attack snakes when they approach 
the vicinity of their brood, and commonly succeed in 
driving off the enemy; when bitten, however, by the poi- 
sonous kinds, it is probable, as related, that they may act 
in such a manner, as to appear laboring under the influ- 
ence of fascination. ‘The Cat-bird, when raised from the 
nest, is easily domesticated, becomes a very amusing iIn- 
mate, and seems attached to his cage, as to a dwelling or 
place of security. About dawn of day, if at large, he 
flirts about with affected wildness, repeatedly jerks his tail 
and wings with the noise almost of a whip, and stretch- 
ing forth his head, opens his mouth and mews. Some- 
times this curious cry is so guttural as to be uttered with- 
out opening the bill. He often also gives a squeal as he 
flies from one place to another; and is very tame, though 


THRUSHES. 381 


pugnacious to all other birds which approach him for 
injury. When wanting food, he stirs round with great un- 
easiness, jerks every thing about within his reach, and 
utters the feeble cry of the caged Mocking-bird. A very 
amusing individual, which I now describe, began his vo- 
cal powers by imitating the sweet and low warble of the 
Song Sparrow, as given inthe autumn; and from his love 
of imitation on other occasions, I am inclined to believe 
that he possesses no original note of his own, but acquires 
and modulates the songs of other birds. Like the Robin, 
he is exceedingly fond of washing, and dashes about in the 
water till every feather appears drenched; he also, at 
times, basks in the gravel, in fine weather. His food, in 
confinement, is almost every thing vegetable, except un- 
bruised seeds; as bread, fine pastry, cakes, scalded corn- 
meal, fruits, particularly those which are juicy, and now 
and then insects and minced flesh. 


The length of this species is about 9 inches. Above deep slate- 
color, lightest on the edges of the primaries, and also considerably 
paler below. The under tail-coverts reddish chesnut. Tail rounded, 
the outer tail feather transversely barred with white on the inner 
web. Upper part of the head, legs, and bill, black. It occurs rarely 
pye-bald, with the head and back white, being nearly an albino. In 
a caged bird, I have also observed one or two of the tail-feathers and 
primaries partly white on their inner webs. —In the young, before 
the first moult, the rufous vent is paler, and the black of the head in- 
distinct. 


TURDUS. (Lix.) THRUSHES. 


Biit of moderate length or shortish, rather stout and 
straight, compressed toward the end, acute. ‘Tarsus as 
long as the middle toe and claw. Tail of moderate length, 
and nearly even. First quill very small, 3d and 4th longest. 


382 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


The Thrushes are but little inferior to the preceding genus 
in their musical talents, but their motions and forms are 
less graceful and elegant. 


Fa 
UD 
t>° 


UT yp : 

pA « Dorey 
LF apa 
LEE 


AMERICAN ROBIN, or MIGRATING THRUSH. 


(Turdus migratorius, Lin. Witson, i. p. 35. pl. 2. fig. 2. Laru., Sy- 
nops. il. p. 26. Avup. Orn. Biog. 2. p. 190. pl. 131.) 


Spree. Cuaract.— Dark ash-color; beneath rufous; head and tail 
black, the two exterior feathers of the latter white at the inner 
tip. 

Tue familiar and welcome Robin is found in summer 
throughout the North American continent from the deso- 
late regions of Hudson’s Bay, in the 53d degree to the 
table land of Mexico;* it is likewise a denizen of the 


* Bullock’s Memoir. 


AMERICAN ROBIN, OR MIGRATING THRUSH. 383 


territory of the Oregon,* on the western base of the 
Rocky mountains. In all this vast space, the American 
Fieldfare rears its young, avoiding only the warmer 
maritime districts, to which, however, they flock for 
support during the inclemency of winter. In like man- 
ner the common Fleldfare migrates at a late season from 
the northern deserts of Siberia and Lapland to pass the 
winter in the milder parts of Europe. ‘The Robin has no 
fixed time for migration, nor any particular rendezvous ; 
they retire from the higher latitudes only as their food be- 
gins to fail, and so leisurely and desultory are their move- 
ments, that they make their appearance in straggling par- 
ties even in Massachusetts, feeding on winter berries, till 
driven to the south by deep and inundating snows. At 
this season they swarm in the Southern States, though they 
never move in large bodies. The holly, prinos, sumach, 
smilax, candle-berry myrtle, and the Virginian juniper 
now afford them an ample repast in the winter, in the ab- 
sence of the more juicy berries of autumn, and the insects 
and worms of the milder season. ven in the vicinity of 
Boston, flocks of Robins are seen, in certain seasons, 
assembling round open springs in the depth of winter, 
having arrived probably from the colder interior of the 
state; and in those situations they are consequently often 
trapped and killed in great numbers. 

Towards the close of January in South Carolina, the 
Robin, at intervals, still tuned his song; and about the 
second week of March, in the Middle States, before the 
snows of winter have wholly disappeared, a few desultory 
notes are already given. As soon as the 10th of this 
month, they may, at times, also be heard in this part of 
New England. Early in April, however, at the close of 


* Found, according to Latham, at Nootka Sound. 


384 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the jealous contests, which are waged with obstinacy, 
they are only seen in pairs, and now, from the orchard or 
the edge of the forest, deliver their simple thrilling lays, 
in all the artless energy of true affection. This earnest 
song recalls to mind the mellow whistle of the Thrush,* 
which, in the charming month of May, so sweetly rises 
in warbling echoes from the low copse and shady glen. 
Our American bird has not, however, the compass and 
variety of that familiar and much loved songster; but his 
freedom and willingness to please, render him an univer- 
sal favorite, and he now comes, as it were, with the wel- 
come prelude to the general concert, about to burst upon 
us from all the green woods and blooming orchards. With 
this pleasing association with the opening season, amidst 
the fragrance of flowers, and the improving verdure of the 
fields, we listen with peculiar pleasure to the simple song 
of the Robin. The confidence he reposes in us by 
making his abode in our gardens and orchards, the frank- 
ness and innocence of his manners, besides his vocal pow- 
ers to please, inspire respect and attachment even in the 
truant school-boy, and his exposed nest is but rarely mo- 
lested. He owes, however, this immunity in no small 
degree to the fortunate name which he bears; as the 
favorite Robin Redbreast, said to have covered, with a 
leafy shroud, the lost and wandering “babes in the 
wood,’+ is held in universal respect in every part of 
Europe, where he is known by endearing names, and so 
familiar in winter that he sometimes taps at the window, 
or enters the house in search of crumbs, and like the 
domestic fowls, claims his welcome pittance at the far- 
mer’s door. 

The nest of this species is often on the horizontal 


* Turdus musicus, Lin, + A well known legend to this effect. 


AMERICAN ROBIN, OR MIGRATING THRUSH. 385 


branch of an apple tree, or in a bush or tree in the 
woods, and so large, as to be scarcely ever wholly con- 
cealed. The materials, chiefly leaves, old grass, and 
sometimes whitish moss (Beomyces Sp.), are cemented 
together inside by a plastering of bog-mud, often filled 
with fibrous roots, somewhat after the manner of the 
Thrush, but the interior is lined with short, dry, rotten 
straw, and a mat of old grass. The eggs, about 5, are of 
a bluish green and without spots. So nearly domestic at 
times are their habits, that an instance is known, where 
they successively raised two broods out of the same nest. 
They show great affection, courage and anxiety for the 
safety of their young, keeping up a noisy cackling chirp 
when the place is approached, sometimes even boldly peck- 
ing at the hand or flying in the face of the intruder; and 
they have often serious contests with the piratical Cuckoo, 
who slily watches the absence of the parents to devour 
their eggs. ‘To avoid these visits and the attacks of other 
enemies, the Robin has been known to build his nest 
within a few yards of the blacksmith’s anvil; and in Ports- 
mouth (New Hampshire) one was seen to employ for the 
same purpose the stern timbers of an unfinished vessel, in 
which the carpenters were constantly at work; the bird 
appearing, by this adventurous association, as if conscious 
of the protection of so singular 2nd bold a situation. I 
have also seen a nest of the Robin bottomed with a mass 
of pine shavings, taken without alarm from the bench of 
the carpenter. The European Thrush is sometimes equally 
familiar ; a pair being known to make a nest on a har- 
row, among some other agricultural implements suspended 
on the joists of a cart-shed, in which 3 men were at work 
at the time ; and here they built and reared their young in 
safety. In this instance, the female was in such haste, 


that she laid an egg before the finishing of the nest, and 
33 


386 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


while the male carried on the necessary labor for its com- 
pletion ; so that this singular resort had apparently been 
forced upon the pair immediately after the loss of the ob- 
ject of their first labor, and they now successfully threw 
themselves upon the protection of the human species. 
From the petulant and reiterated chirp so commonly utter- 
ed by the Robin, when surprised or irritated, the Indians 
of Hudson’s Bay call him, from this note, Pee-pée-tshu. 
They often also utter a loud echoing ’kh ’kh ’kh, and 
sometimes chirp in a high or slender tone when alarmed, 
and with an affectation of anger sharply flirt the tail and 
ends of the wings. They raise several broods in a season, 
and considerable numbers flock together in the latter end 
of summer and autumn. When feeding on cherries, poke, 
sassafras, and sour-gum berries, they are so intent as to 
be easily approached and shot down in numbers; and 
when fat, are justly esteemed for food, and often brought 
to market. In the spring they frequently descend to the 
ground in quest of worms and insects, which then consti- 
tute their principal support. 

They are commonly brought up in the cage, and seem 
very docile and content. They sing well, readily learn to 
imitate lively parts of tunes, and some have been taught to 
pipe forth psalms even to so dull and solemn a measure as 
that of “‘ Old Hundred”! They acquire also a consid- 
erable taste for mimickry, imitating the notes of most of 
the birds around them, such as the Blue-bird, Pewee, 
Whip-poor-will, and others. On being approached with 
the finger, they usually make some show of anger by crack- 
ing and snapping the bill. At times they become very 
tame, and will go in and out of the house with domestic 
confidence, feel uneasy when left alone, and on such occa- 
sions, have sometimes the sagacity of calling attention by 
articulating endearing words, as pretty, pretty, &c. con- 


AMERICAN ROBIN, OR MIGRATING THRUSH. 387 


necting, apparently with these expressions, their general 
import of attentive blandishment. They become almost 
naked in the moulting season, in which they appear to suf- 
fer considerably, yet have been known to survive for 17 
years or upwards. The rufous color of the breast becomes 
deeper in those birds which thus live in confinement. 
Their principal song is in the morning, and commences 
before sunrise, at which time it is very loud, full and em- 
phatic. 

This bird, according to Richardson, inhabits every part 
of the fur countries. Nests of the Robin are found as high 
as the 67th parallel; and from the reports of travellers it is 
known to visit the north-west coast of America. It arrives 
in the Missouri (in lat. 413°), from the eastward, on the 
11th of April; and in the course of its northerly move- 
ment, visits Severn River in Hudson’s Bay about a fort- 
night later. On the 7th of May, in 1827, it was seen at 
Fort Chepewyan in latitude 582°, and in the distant paral- 
lel of 65°, at Fort Franklin on the 20th of that month. 
In the 54th degree, they begin to hatch by the end of 
May; but 11 degrees farther to the north, they do not 
commence incubation until the 11th of June. The snow 
even then partially covers the ground; but there are, in 
those latitudes, abundance of the berries of the Alpine Ar- 
butus, Crow-Berry, (Eimpetrum nigrum,) Whortle-Berry 
and Cow-Berry, (Vaccinium uliginosum, and V. Vitis 
id@a), besides those of some other plants, which, after 
having been frozen up all the winter, are exposed, on the 
melting of the snow, again to view, full of juice, and re- 
taining their original flavor. Dr. Richardson remarks, 
that the notes of the Robin ‘‘ resemble those of the com- 
mon Thrush, (Turdus musicus) but are not so loud. With- 
in the Arctic circle the woods are silent in the bright light 
of noon-day, but towards midnight, when the sun travels 


388 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


near the horizon, and the shades of the forest are length- 
ened, the concert commences, and continues till six or 
seven in the morning. Even in those remote regions, the 
mistake of those naturalists who have asserted that the 
feathered tribgs of America are void of harmony might 
be fully disproved. Indeed, the transition is so sudden 
from the perfect repose, the death-like silence of an arctic 
winter, to the animated bustle of summer; the trees spread 
their foliage with such magic rapidity, and every succeed- 
ing morning opens with such agreeable accessions of 
feathered songsters to swell the chorus —their plumage as 
gay and unimpaired as when they enlivened the deep-green 
forests of tropical climes, that the return of a northern 
spring excites in the mind a deep feeling of the beauties 
of the season, a sense of the bounty and Providence of the 
Supreme Being, which is cheaply purchased by the tedium 
of nine months winter. The most verdant lawns and cul- 
tivated glades of Europe, the most beautiful productions of 
art, fail in producing that exhilaration and joyous buoyancy 
of mind which we have experienced in treading the wilds 
of Arctic America, when their snowy covering has just 
been replaced by an infant but vigorous vegetation.” 


The Robin is 10 inches in length. Head, back of the neck, and 
tail, black ; the back and rump ash-color. The wings black, edged 
with pale ash. Three small spots of white border the eye. Throat 
and upper part of the breast black, the former streaked with white. 
Below, dark orange or rufous. Belly and vent white. Legs dark 
brown. Bill yellow, as in the European Blackbird ; sometimes dusky 
brown above towards the tip. The colors of the female are paler. 
The young, during the first season, are spotted with white and dusky 
on the breast, and at that time bear a considerable resemblance to the 
Fieldfare of Europe. 


VARIED THRUSH. 389 


VARIED THRUSH. 


(Turdus nevius,GmeEvin. T. nevius, Laru. Ind. i.p. 331. Aup. Orn. 
Biog. 4. p. 489. pl. 369. fig. 2,3. [male], and pl. 433. fig. 6. [fe- 
male]. Orpheus meruloides, Swains. and Ricu. Faun. Bor. Amer. 

o 
2. p. 187.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Blackish-grey; beneath principally reddish- 
orange; with a black pectoral belt; two orange bands on the 
wings, with the quills exteriorly blotched with the same. 


Or this elegant and rather brilliant species, whose man- 
ners so entirely resemble that of the Common American 
Robin ( Zurdus migratorius), we know scarcely anything 
certain. ‘They probably breed as far north as Nootka, 
where they were first seen by the naturalists of Cook’s ex- 
pedition. ‘They were observed in the Arctic Expedition. 
at Fort Franklin, in lat. 65£°, in the spring of 1826, ac- 
cording to Richardson, it was not found as far east as the 
banks of the Saskatchewan, and seems never to have stray- 
ed to the eastward of the Rocky Mountains. It is said to 
make its nest in a bush, and that it is very similar to that 
of the American Robin. Mr. Townsend remarks, how- 
ever, that it possesses a very different note, being louder, 
sharper, and quicker, and in the spring, previous to its de- 
parture for the north, it warbles very sweetly. In Oregon 
they are only winter birds of passage, arriving about Oc- 
tober, and continuing more or less frequently throughout 
the winter, roving about in companies of 20 to 50 in quest 
of subsistence. At this time they flit through the forests, 
frequenting low trees on which they perch in silence, and 
are at times very timorous and difficult of approach, having 
all the shy sagacity of the Robin, and appear roving about 
in a very desultory manner, They are found at this sea- 
son as far south as upper California, and probably spread 
to the extremity of that peninsula. 

33* 


390 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Length 9 inches 9 lines; the tail 3 inches 6 lines; the bill above, 
10 lines, from the rictus 1 inch 14 lines ; tarsus 1 inch 3 lines. Above 
blackish-grey ; the head, sides of the neck, and rudimental pectoral 
belt, pitch-black. The blackish ear-feathers surrounded by a narrow 
stripe of reddish-orange which extends to the eye-brows. Tail grey- 
ish-black, a large,white spot on the tip of the inner web of the outer 
feather, and brownish-white spots on the tips of all the other feathers, 
diminishing in size to the central ones on which there is merely a 
minute brownish spec on their tips) Quills, greater coverts, and the 
adjoining row of lesser ones, liver-brown. Two rather broad bands 
of pale reddish-orange cross the wings. A large patch of the same 
color on the primaries near their coverts, and a smaller one about half 
way to their tips. Tertiaries slightly tipped with white. Chin, 
throat, and belly reddish-orange. Vent white. Under tail coverts 
blackish-grey, edged with orange, and largely tipped with white. 
Flanks and axillary feathers bluish-grey. Bill black, pale yellow at 
the base of the under mandible. Legs flesh-colored. Bill straight, 
compressed, more slender than in the Robin, but otherwise resembling 
it. Wings 14 inches shorter than the end of the tail, 4th quill long- 
est; the 3d and 5th nearly equal it. Tail slightly rounded. Tarsus 
much longer than the middle toe. 


WOOD THRUSH. 


(Turdus mustelinus, Gm. Aupvron, pl. 73. T. melodus, Wixson, i. p. 
30. pl. 2. fig. 1. Tawny Thrush, Pennant’s Arctic Zodlogy, ii. p. 
19. No. 198. _LatHam, Synops. iii. p. 28. No. 15.) 


Spec. Cuaract. —Cinnamon-brown, rufous on the head ; rump and 
tail inclining to olive ; beneath white, spotted with blackish ; tail 
slightly emarginate ; the bill of moderate length. 


Tius solitary and retiring songster, during summer, in- 
habits the whole continent from Hudson’s Bay to Florida; 
and according to my friend Mr. Ware, breeds as far south 
as the vicinity of Natchez, in the territory of Mississippi. 
Whether they leave the boundaries of the United States in 
the winter, is not satisfactorily ascertained ; as the species 


WOOD THRUSH. 391 


is then silent, and always difficult of access, its residence 
is rendered peculiarly doubtful. ‘The lateness of the sea- 
son in which they still linger, renders it probable that they 
may winter in the Southern States, as a young bird, glean- 
ing insects and berries, has been caughtin a garden in 
Boston on the 26th of October. 

From the southern parts of the Union, or wherever he 
may winter, the Wood Thrush arrives in the middle States 
from the Ist to the 15th of April; though his appearance 
here, where the species is scarce, does not take place 
earlier than the beginning of May. At the dawn of morn- 
ing he now announces his presence in the woods, and from 
the top of some tall tree, rising through the dark and 
shady forest, he pours out his few, clear, and harmonious 
notes in a pleasing reverie, as if inspired by the enthu- 
siasm of renovated nature. The prelude to this song re- 
sembles almost the double tonguing of the flute, blended 
with a tinkling, shrill, and solemn warble, which reéchoes 
from his solitary retreat, like the dirge of some sad recluse, 
who shuns the busy haunts of life. ‘The whole air consists 
usually of 4 parts or bars, which succeed, in deliberate 
time, and finally blend together in impressive and soothing 
harmony, becoming more mellow and sweet at every repe- 
tition. Rival performers seem to challenge each other from 
various parts of the wood, vying for the favor of their 
mates, with sympathetic responses and softer tones; and 
some, waging a jealous strife, terminate the warm dispute 
by an appeal to combat and violence. Like the Robin and 
the ‘Thrasher, in dark and gloomy weather, when other 
birds are sheltered and silent, the clear notes of the Wood 
Thrush are heard through the dropping woods from dawn 
to dusk, so that, the sadder the day, the sweeter and more 
constant is his song. His clear and interrupted whistle is 
likewise often nearly the only voice of melody heard by 


392 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


the traveller, to mid-day, in the heat of summer, as he 
traverses the silent, dark, and wooded wilderness, remote 
from the haunts of men. It is nearly impossible by words 
to convey any idea of the peculiar warble of this vocal 
hermit; but amongst his phrases, the sound of ’airoee, pe- 
culiarly liquid, and followed by a trill, repeated in two 
interrupted bars, is readily recognisable. At times their 
notes bear a considerable resemblance to those of Wilson’s 
Thrush; such as eh rhehu ’vrhehu, then varied to ’eh villia 
villia, ’eh villia vrhehu, then, ’ch velu villiu, high and 
shrill. 

The Wood Thrush is always of a shy and retiring dis- 
position, appearing alone, or only in single pairs, and 
while he willingly charms us with his song, he is content 
and even solicitous to remain concealed. His favorite 
haunts are low, shady glens by water-courses, often ren- 
dered dark with alder bushes, mantled with the trailing 
grape-vine. In quest of his insect prey, he delights to 
follow the meanders of the rivulet, through whose leafy 
shades the sun-beams steal only in a few interrupted rays 
over the sparkling surface of the running brook. So par- 
tial is this bird to solitude, that I have known one to sing 
almost uniformly in the same place, though nearly half a 
mile from his mate and nest. At times indeed he would 
venture a few faltering, low notes in an oak near his con- 
sort, but his mellowest morning and evening warble was 
always delivered from a tall hickory, overtopping a grove 
of hemlock firs, in which the dimness of twilight prevailed 
even atnoon. The Wood Thrush, like the Nightingale, 
therefore feels inspired in darkness, but instead of waiting 
for the setting sun, he chooses a retreat where the beams 
of day can seldom enter. These shady retreats have also 
an additional attraction to our Thrush; it is here that the 
most interesting scene of his instinctive labor begins and 


HERMIT THRUSH. 393 


ends; here he first saw the light, and breathed into exist- 
ence; and here he now bestows his nest in a sapling oak, 
or in the next thick laurel or blooming alder, whose ber- 
ries afford him an ample repast in the coming autumn. 
Outwardly it presents a warm bed of withered beech or 
oak leaves, above these a layer of coarse old grass and 
leaf-stalks is laid, tempered with a mixture of mud and 
decayed wood smoothly plastered, so as to form a crust 
like the nest of the Robin. The whole is then surmounted 
by a thin lining of the-black, fibrous radicles of the fern. 
The eggs, 4 or 5, scarcely distinguishable from those of 
the Robin, are of a uniform bright greenish blue and des- 
titute of spots. Beetles, caterpillars, various insects, and, 
in autumn, berries constitute the principal food of the 
Wood Thrush. The young remain for weeks around gar- 
dens in quest of berries, and are particularly fond of those 
of the various species of cornel and viburnum. At this 
season they occasionally leave their favorite glens, and in 
their devious wanderings, previous to their departure, 
sometimes venture to visit the rural suburbs of the city. 
The young are easily reared, and sing nearly as well in the 
cage as in their native wilds. 


The Wood Thrush measures about 8 inches in length, and 13 in 
alar extent. Above, bright cinnamon-brown, brightening into rufous 
on the head, and inclining to olive on the rump and tail. Beneath, 
whitish, thickly marked with pencil-shaped dusky spots. The vent 
pure white. Orbits of the eye white. Bill dusky brown, slightly 
notched, the lower mandible flesh-colored towards the base. Legs 
and claws very pale flesh-color. Iris dark chocolate, 


HERMIT THRUSH. 


(Turdus solitarius, Witsox, v. p. 95. pl. 43. fig. 2. AupuBon, Orn. 
Biog. 1. p. 303. pl. 58. [excellent.] Phil. Museum, No. 3542.) 


394 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Spec. Cuaract. — Olive-brown, inclining to rufous on the tail; be 
neath brownish white, spotted with dusky brown on the breast and 
under the wings ; tail emarginate. 


Tis species, so much like the Nightingale in color, is 
scarce inferior to that celebrated bird in its powers of 
song,* and greatly exceeds the Wood Thrush in the mel- 
ody and sweetness of its lay. It inhabits the United States, 
from the lofty alpine mountains of New Hampshire to 
Florida. It is also met with on the tabie land of Mexico, 
and in the warmer climate of the Antilles. In Pennsyl- 
vania, New Jersey, and New England, at the close of 
autumn, it appears to migrate eastward to the sea-coast 
in quest of the winter berries, on which it now feeds; in 
spring and summer it lives chiefly on insects and their 
larve, and also collects the surviving berries of the Mitch- 
ella repens. _ 

Like the preceding species, it appears to court solitude, 
and lives wholly in the woods. In the southern States, 
where it inhabits the whole year, it frequents the dark and 
desolate shades of the cane swamps. In these, almost 
Stygian regions, which, besides being cool, abound pro- 
bably with its favorite insect food, we are nearly sure to 
meet our sweetly vocal hermit flitting through the settled 
gloom, which the brightest rays of noon scarcely illumine 
with more than twilight. In one of such swamps, in the 
Choctaw nation, Wilson examined a nest of this species, 
which was fixed on the horizontal branch of a tree, formed 
with great neatness and without using any plastering of 
mud. The outside was made of a layer of coarse grass, 
having the roots attached, and intermixed with horse-hair ; 
the lining consisted of green filiform blades of dry grass, 


* My friend, Mr. C. Pickering, remarks, that the song of this species is far supe- 
rior to that of the Wood Thrush. Wilson considered it mute. 


HERMIT THRUSH. 395 


very neatly wound about the interior. The eggs, 4 to 6, 
of a pale greenish blue, were marked towards the great 
end with specks and blotches of olive. 

In the Middle States this species is only seen for a few 
weeks in the spring and fall. ‘hey arrive in this part of 
New England about the 10th of April, and disperse to 
pass the summer in the seclusion of the forest. ‘They are 
often seen on the ground in quest of their food, and fre- 
quent low and thick copses, into which they commonly fly 
for concealment when too attentively observed; though 
when in small companies, in the spring season, they do not 
appear very shy, but restless, from the unsettled state of 
their circumstances. When dispersed, they utter a low, 
chirping call, and for some time continue to frequent the 
same secluded part of the forest in society. At times, like 
the Wagtail, they keep this part of their body in a slow, 
vertical motion. In manners it strongly resembles the 
following species; but its song seems to be unusually 
lively and varied, warbling almost like the Yellow Bird, 
and then chanting like the Robin. In Lower Louisiana, 
they are said to raise two broods in the season. 


The length of the Hermit Thrush is about 7 inches; alar extent 
104. Above, plain deep olive-brown. Below, dull white; upper 
part of the breast and throat of a delicate cream color, inclining to 
nankeen ; the dusky brown pencillated spots carried over the breast 
and under the wings where the sides are pale olive; 3d primary 
longest, inner webs inclining to dusky, the outer nearly as rufous as 
the tail ; on the inner webs of the secondaries a large oval spot of 
bright nankeen color. Tail and coverts, as well as the wings, strongly 
tinged with rufous. Legs pale flesh-color, the tarsus very long. Bill 
black above the lower mandible, flesh-colored below. Iris nearly 
black, and large. — The female darker, and with the spots on the 
breast larger and more dusky. 


Notre. The Brown Thrush of Pennant and Latham agrees pretty 
nearly with the Hermit Thrush (7. solitarius) of Wilson, and differs, 


396 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


in several important particulars, with the bird of this article. The 
bird of Wilson’s figure, if correctly done, I have never seen in Mas- 
sachusetts. 


DWARF THRUSH. 
(Turdus nanus, Aup. Orn, Biog. v. p. 204. pl. 419. f. 1.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — With the general plumage of T. solitarius. 2d 
and 6th quills nearly equal: length 6 inches. 


Tue first intimation of this species, if such it prove, is 
due to that accurate observer, my friend Mr. Charles 
Pickering, who communicated a portion of the skin to Mr. 
Audubon, to whom, though now known, it is very scarce. 
It has since been obtained in the forests of the Oregon, 
by Mr. Townsend, who gives its measurements as “length 
6 inches, alar extent 9.” It is probably confounded, in 
several instances, with the Hermit Thrush, which it so 
closely resembles, if indeed it prove sufficiently distinct. 
Of its habits nothing is yet known, except that it is almost 
exclusively terrestrial. 


WILSON’S THRUSH, or VEERY. 


(Turdus Wilsoni, Bonar. Aup. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 362. pl. 164. T. 
mustelinus, WiLson (not of Gmet.), v. p. 98. pl. 43. fig. 3. Little 
Thrush, Lara. Synops. iii. p. 20. (not of Pennant, &c.) Phil. 
Museum, No. 5570.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Tawny-brown; beneath and chin whitish, with 
dusky spots on the throat, which is inclined to tawny yellow; tail 
nearly even, the feathers pointed as well as the secondaries ; bill 
short. 


Tuts common northern species arrives in Pennsylvania 
and New England about the beginning of May, and their 


WILSON’S THRUSH, OR VEERY. 397 


northern migration extends, as far as Labrador. They 
appear to retire to the south early in October, and are 
more decidedly insectivorous than any other native species. 
According to Wilson, many winter in the myrtle swamps 
of South Carolina. I have not, however, seen them in the 
Southern States at that season, and most part of the 
species pass on probably as far as the coast of the Mexican 
Gulf. They do not, according to Wilson, breed in the 
lower parts of Pennsylvania, though undoubtedly in the 
mountainous districts, where they are seen as late as the 
20th of May. They propagate and are very common in 
Massachusetts. On the 3d of July we were serenaded by 
this old acquaintance, in the very central chain of the 
Rocky Mountains, or the borders of Ham’s Fork of the 
Colorado, as well as in the thickets of Lewis River of the 
Shoshonee. 

In its retiring habits and love of concealment this 
Thrush resembles the preceding. They frequent the 
dark and shady borders of small brooks, and woods, and 
sometimes the bushy and retired parts of the garden; 
from whence, without being often seen, in the morning, 
and particularly the evening, to the very approach of night, 
we often hear the singular, quaint, and musical note of 
this querulous species, at short intervals, as he perches 
upon some low branch of atree or bush. This curious 
whistling note sounds like ’vehu ’v’rehu ’v’rehu ’v’reht, 
and sometimes ‘ved vea ’vrcha ’ureha vehi, running up the 
notes till they become shrill and quick at the close, in the 
first phrase; but from high to low, and terminating slender 
and slow, in the latter; another expression seems to be, 
‘ve ved vehurr, ascending like a whistle. The song of 
another individual was expressed in the following manner, 
ve ’villill’villill ’tullull tullil. It was then repeated with 
variation, ’ve villillil villill villill; then villillill villillill, 

34 


398 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


tullilill tulhlill; the whole agreeably and singularly deliv« 
ered in ashrill, hollow voice, almost like the sound of 
liquor passing through a tunnel into a bottle. I have also 
heard several of these sounds, sometimes occasionally 
prefaced by a mewing or chirping warble. These sounds, 
through monotonous, are possessed of greater variety than 
is at first imagined, the terminating tone or key changing 
through several repetitions, so as to constitute a harmony 
and melody, in some degree approaching the song of the 
more musical Wood Thrush. From this habit of seren- 
ading into the night, the species is sometimes here digni- 
fied with the nickname of the Nightingale. Occasion- 
ally he utters an angry, rather plaintive mew, like the 
Cat-bird, or a quivering bleat, almost similar to that of a 
lamb, and, when approached, watches and follows the 
intruder with an angry or petulant guedh queah; at other 
times, a sort of mewing, melancholy, or complaining 
yeow ’y’eow is heard; and then, perhaps, a hasty and 
impatient péut péut follows. ‘The food of this species, 
at least during the early part of summer, appears to be 
shelly insects of various kinds, particularly Chrysomelas, 
or lady-bugs, and those many legged hard worms of the 
genus Lulus. 

A good while after the commencement of the period 
of incubation, I have observed the males engaged in ob- 
stinate quarrels. Onthe 4th of June (1830) I observed two 
of these petulant Thrushes thus fiercely and jealously 
contending ; one of them used a plaintive and angry tone 
as he chased his antagonist up and down the tree; at 
length, however, a cousin Cat-bird, to which this species 
has some affinity, stept in betwixt the combatants, and they 
soon parted. One of these birds had a nest and mate in 
the gooseberry bush of a neighboring garden; the second 
bird was thus a dissatisfied hermit, and spent many weeks 


WILSON’S THRUSH, OR VEERY. 399 


in the Botanic Garden, where, though at times sad and 
solitary, yet he constantly amused us with his forlorn song, 
and seemed at last, as it were, acquainted with those who 
whistled for him, peeping out of the bushes with a sort of 
complaisant curiosity, and from his almost nocturnal habits 
became a great persecutor of the assassin Owl, whenever 
he dared to make his appearance. 

The nest of Wilson’s Thrush (commenced about the 
close of the first week in May) is usually in a low and 
thorny bush, in the darkest part of the forest, at no great 
distance from the ground (1 to 3 feet), sometimes indeed 
on the earth, but raised by a bed of leaves, and greatly 
resembles that of the Cat-bird. This species seems, in- 
deed, for security artfully to depend on the resemblance of 
itself and its leafy nest with the bosom of the forest on 
which it rests, and when approached it sits so close as 
nearly to admit of being taken up by the hand. The nest 
sometimes appears without any shelter but shade and asso- 
ciation of colors with the place on which it rests. I have 
seen one placed on a mass of prostrated dead brambles; 
on a fallen heap of lilac twigs in a ravine; and also in a 
small withered branch of red oak, which had fallen into a 
bush; below, it was also bedded with exactly similar 
leaves, so as easily to deceive the eye. But with all these 
precautions they appear to lose many eggs and young by 
squirrels and other animals. The nest is usually bot- 
tomed with dry oak or beech leaves, coarse stalks of grass 
and weeds, and lined very generally with naturally dis- 
sected foliage, its stalks, some fine grass, and, at other 
times, a mixture of root fibres; but no earth is employed 
in the fabric. The eggs, 4 or 5, are of an emerald green, 
without spots, and differ from those of the Cat-bird only 
in being a little smaller and more inclined to blue. So 
shy is the species, that though I feigned a violent chirping 


400 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


near the nest containing their young, which brought Spar- 
rows, and a neighboring Baltimore to the rescue, the pa- 
rents, peeping at a distance, did not venture to approach, 
or even express any marked concern, though they prove 
very watchful guardians when their brood are fledged and 
with them in the woods. They have commonly two broods 
in the season; the second being raised about the middle 
of July ; after which their musical notes are but seldom 
heard. I afterwards, by an accident obtained a young 
fledged bird, which retained in the cage the unsocial and 
silent timidity peculiar to the species. 


Wilson’s Thrush is about 7 inches long, and 12 in alar extent. 
Above, of an uniform tawny-brown. Beneath white; the sides of 
the breast and under the wings, slightly tinged with ash-color; chin 
white ; throat and upper part of the breast cream-color, marked with 
pointed spots of brown. The tail nearly even, the shafts, as well as 
those of the wing-quills, continued a little beyond their webs. Biull 
black above, below flesh-colored at base. Iris dark. Legs slender, 
pale brown. 


WESTERN THRUSH. 


(Turdus cestulatus, Nosis. T. Wilsoniz. [in a note] Aup. Orn. Biog. 
v. p. 204. Museum of the Acad. Nat. Sc.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Sides and above olive-brown, inclining to rufous 
on the tail; throat, shoulder and breast pale tawny, spotted with 
dusky ; tail nearly even, the feathers pointed; secondaries point- 
less; bill short and slender. 


Axzout the commencement of May, Mr. Townsend and 
myself observed the arrival of this species in the shady 
forests of the Oregon, where shy and retiring it was flit- 
ting through the low bushes or gathering insects on the 
ground. At intervals, on the commencement of the breed- 
ing period, we heard their notes, bearing indeed, some 


WESTERN THRUSH. 401 


resemblance to the quaint warble of the Veery or Wilson’s 
Thrush, though quite distinct, and easily recognizable 
from the notes of that Atlantic species. Its song was also 
more brief and interrupted, and the bird more shy and 
difficult of access. The warble of one of these birds 
which I heard at Chinhook, near the estuary of the Co- 
lumbia, on the 4th of July, resembled wit wit ¢’villia, and 
wit wit ?villia t’villia, cheering the dark solitudes of ever- 
greens where all day he remains recluse like our Wood 
Thrush: his recognition call is ’wit ’wit which he utters 
also when surprised, and as soon as seen flits rapidly 
through the thicket. About the close of July, I found the 
nest of this species in the prairies of Wahlamet ; it was sus- 
pended in the forks of a stout stalk of a large fern scarcely 
differing from the brake (Pterts aquilina). Among other 
things it was lined with dry leaves and some mud, exter- 
nally of coarse grass. The only specimen from which I 
am now able to describe the species is that of a female 
procured onthe banks of the Columbia on the 10th of 
June by my friend Mr. Townsend. This neglect arose 
from the too hasty conclusion that it was no other than 
the well known Wilson’s Thrush. 


Length 74 inches. Bill 4 aninch; the mandibles a little more than 
half the width of Wilson’s Thrush, the upper brownish black, the 
lower yellowish towards the base. Above olive-brown, a little darker 
on the head; the tail strongly tinged with rufous, and darker than in 
the preceding ; a pale tawny line round the eye; cheeks, throat and 
breast down to the abdomen tinted with pale tawny and marked with 
rather small pencillate olive-brown spots no darker than the feathers 
of the back. Sides under the wings pale olive-brown. Middle of the 
abdomen white ; vent, under tail and wing coverts strongly tinged with 
yellowish-brown ; the shoulder beneath brownish-yellow with shades 
of dusky. Tarsus slender, pale flesh-color, almost white. 2d and 3d 
primaries longest; the first near upon 2 lines shorter than the 2d; 
the quills rounded and without projecting points to the shafts, paler 
on the margin of the outer webs. 


o4* 


402 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


SEIURUS. (Swarnson.) WOOD WAGTAILS. 


Bit slightly depressed at base, and with the bristles at 
the opening of the mouth scarcely visible. — The two spe- 
cies here associated have not much affinity in character 
and habit; and are rather remarkable for the habit of 
moving the tail. In 7. aurocapillus, the white and spotted 
eggs, very artful nest, and usual monotonous rattling 
notes, are exceptions to its arrangement either in Sylvia 
or Turdus. 


NEW YORK or AQUATIC THRUSH. 


(Turdus noveboracensis, Nozis. T. aquaticus, Orn. Biog. 5. p. 284, 
pl. 433. Witson, iii. p. 66. pl. 23. fig. 5. TT. ludovicianus, pl. 19. 
[male]. Aun. Orn. Biog. 1, p.99. Sylvia noveboracensis, LATHAM 
and Bonar. Phil. Museum, No. 6896.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dark olive ; beneath and line over the eye yellow- 
ish white ; breast and sides with dusky pencil-shaped spots. 


Tis shy and retiring sylvan species extends its summer 
migrations throughout the United States, breeding rarely 
in Pennsylvania, proceeding principally to the Western and 
Northern regions at the period of incubation. Dr. Rich- 
ardson states that this species was seen at Carleton House, 
where it frequented the moist and thickly wooded points of 
the river. It arrived in May, and disappeared after a few 
days, probably going further north to breed. Mr. Townsend 
and myself observed this bird in Oregon, as well as in 
Missouri, where it was, no doubt, breeding, and sung in a 
very lively manner, keeping in a shady wood which bor- 
dered a small stream, often descending to the ground after 
aquatic insects or larve, and with the tail in a constant 


NEW YORK OR AQUATIC THRUSH. 403 


balancing motion, reminded us strongly of the Wagtail or 
Motacilla of Europe. 

The Aquatic Thrush has, indeed, a particular partiality 
for the vicinity of waters, wading in the shallow streams 
in search of insects, moving its tail as it leisurely follows 
its pursuit, and chattering as it flies. During its transient 
migrating visits it is very timid, and darts into the thickets 
as soon as approached, uttering a sharp and rather plaintive 
tship’ of alarm. About the beginning of May, it appears 
in Pennsylvania from the South, and stays around dark and 
solitary streams for 10 or 12 days, and then disappears 
until about the middle of August, when, on their way to 
their tropical winter quarters, they leave the swamps and 
mountains of their summer retreat, and, after again gleaning 
a transient subsistence for a few days towards the sea-coast, 
depart for the season. In Massachusetts, they are scarcely 
ever seen except in the autumn, and continue in shady 
gardens, probably feeding on small wild berries till nearly 
the close of September. 

It appears, according to Wilson, that the favorite resort 
of this species is in the cane-brakes, swamps, river shores, 
and watery solitudes of Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mis- 
sissippi. Here they are abundant, and are eminently dis- 
tinguished by the loudness, sweetness, and expressive 
vivacity of their notes, which, beginning high and clear, 
flow and descend in a cadence so delicate, as to terminate 
in sounds, that are scarcely audible. At such times he sits 
perched on some branch which stretches impending over 
the flowing stream, and pours out his charming melody 
with such effect as to be heard at the distance of nearly 
half a mile, giving a peculiar charm to the dark and soli- 
tary wilds he inhabits. ‘The silence of night is, also, at 
times, relieved by the incessant warble of this Western 
Philomel, whose voice, breaking upon the ear of the lonely 


404 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


traveller in the wilderness, seems like the dulcet lay of 
something supernatural. His song is also heard in the 
winter, when the weather proves mild. In this habit he 
appears considerably allied to the Reed Thrush* or River 
Nightingale of Europe, which night and day almost cease- 
lessly sings and soothes his sitting mate, among the reeds 
and marshes of his favorite resorts. This bird, in Louis- 
jana, commences its nest early in April. It is placed usu- 
ally at the foot of a tree, or by the side of a decayed log, 
and is formed of dry leaves, moss, and fine grass, being 
lined with hair or the similar fibres of the Spanish moss 
(Tilandsia). 'The eggs are 4 or 5, flesh-color, with dark 
red spots at the greater end. When startled from her eggs 
or young, the female tumbles in the path and simulates 
lameness. 


The Aquatic Thrush is about 6 inches long, and 93 in alar extent. 
Above very dark olive, with a line of whitish extending over the 
eye, and along the sides of the neck. Below, white, tinged with pale 
yellow; the whole breast and sides marked with dark brown pencil- 
shaped spots. Bill dusky brown. Legs flesh-colored, or of a deep 
bluish-brown. Tail nearlyeven. The sexes almost alike in plumage. 


GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH, or OVEN-BIRD. 


(Turdus aurocapillus, Wivson, 11. p. 88. pl. 14. fig. 2. Aup. Orn. Biog. 
2. p. 253. pl. 143. Sylvia aurocapilla, Bonar.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Yellow-olive ; crown brownish-orange, margined 
on each side by a dusky line; beneath white, the breast spotted 
with blackish. 


Tus rather common bird, so nearly allied to the true 
Thrushes, is found throughout the forests of the United 


* Turdus arundinaceus. 


GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH, OR OVEN-BIRD. 405 


States, Canada, and in the Territory of Oregon during the 
summer, arriving in the Middle and Northern States about 
the beginning of May or close of April, and departing for 
tropical America, Mexico, and the larger West India 
islands early in September. 

The Golden-crowned Thrush, shy and retiring, is never 
seen out of the shade of the woods, and sits and runs 
along the ground often like the Lark; it also frequents 
the branches of trees, and sometimes moves its tail in the 
manner of the Wagtails. It has few pretensions to song, 
and while perched in the deep and shady part of the forest, 
it utters, at intervals, a simple, long reiterated note of 
tse tshe tshe tshe tshe, rising from low to high and shrill, 
so as to give but little idea of the distance or place from 
whence the sound proceeds, and often appearing from the 
loudness of the closing cadence to be much nearer than it 
really is. As soon as discovered, like the Wood Thrush, 
it darts at once timidly into the depths of its sylvan retreat. 
During the period of incubation, the deliberate lay of the 
male, from some horizontal branch of the forest tree, 
where he often sits usually still, is a ’tshe te tshe té tshe té 
tshee, gradually rising and growing louder. 'Towards dusk 
in the evening, however, it now and then utters a sudden 
burst of notes with a short agreeable warble, which termi- 
nates, commonly in the usual ’tshe te tshe. Its curious 
oven-shaped nest is known to all the sportsmen who tra- 
verse the solitary wilds which it inhabits. This ingenious 
fabric is sunk a little into the ground, and generally situ- 
ated on some dry and mossy bank contiguous to bushes, 
or on an uncleared surface ; it is formed with great neat- 
ness of dry blades of grass, and lined with the same; it is 
then surmounted by a thick inclined roof of similar ma- 
terials, the surface scattered with leaves and twigs so as to 
match the rest of the ground, and an entrance is left at 


406 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the side. Near Milton hills, in this vicinity, the situa- 
tion chosen was among low whortleberry bushes, in a 
stunted cedar and oak grove. The eggs, 4 or 5, white, are 
irregularly spotted near the greater end, with reddish brown. 
When surprised, the bird escapes, or runs from the nest 
with the silence and celerity of a mouse. If an attempt 
be made to discover the nest from which she is flushed, she 
stops, flutters, and pretends lameness, and watching the 
success of the mancuvre, at length, when the decoy 
seems complete, she takes to wing and disappears. ‘This 
bird is another of the foster-parents sometimes chosen by 
the Cow Troopial; and she rears the foundling with her 
accustomed care and affection, and keeps up an incessant 
tship when her unfledged brood are even distantly ap- 
proached. They have often two broods in a season in the 
Middle States. Their food is wholly insects and their 
larve, particularly small coleopterous kinds and ants, 
chiefly collected on the ground. 


This species is 6 inches long, and 9 in alar extent. Above rich 
yellow-olive ; the tips of the wings and inner vanes cf the quills 
dusky brown; the 3 first primaries are about equal. From the nos- 
trils a dusky line passes to the hind head; crown brownish-orange. 
Below white, the breast covered with deep brown pencil-shaped spots. 
Legs pale flesh-color. Bill dusky, below whitish. In the female the 
crown is paler. 


CINCLUS. (Becur.) DIPPER. 


In these birds the situ is of moderate size, straight, 
compressed, the edges sharp and slightly incurved, and 
with the point of the upper mandible curved over the 
lower. Nosrrits basal, lateral, concave, longitudinal, and 
covered by a membrane. — Tarsus longer than the middle 


AMERICAN WATER-OUSEL, OR DIPPER. 407 


toe; outer toe attached to the inner at the base, the lateral 
toes equal. Wings, with the 3d and 4th primaries longest. 

The female scarcely differs in plumage from the male ; — 
the young more tinged with rufous. The moult is annual; 
and the plumage water-proof. 


These curious birds associate only in single pairs, and frequent 
brooks and clear streams, diving and walking on the gravelly bottom 
beneath the surface of the water, which constitutes their favorite 
element. They feed on aquatic insects, small crustacea, and the 
spawn of the trout. They build in the vicinity of rivulets, a well 
concealed, covered, and very artful nest. Their flight is rapid, straight, 
and skimming along the surface of the water. The voice is feeble 
and shrill.— The genus consist of only 2 or 3 species indigenous to 
the northern, or mild regions. 


AMERICAN WATER-OUSEL, or DIPPER. 


(Cinclus Americanus, Swaixs. Avp. pl. 370. and 435. [young].* Orn. 
Biog. 4. p. 493. C. Pallasiit, TemmM. Bonar. Am. Orn. 3. pl. 16. 
fig. 1. Phil. Museum.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Cinereous-grey ; head and neck blackish-brown. — 
Young, blackish-grey inclining to ash; throat and breast tinged 
with cloye-brown, quills and tail of the latter color, the secondaries 
slightly tipped with white ; the bill horn-color ; feet flesh-color. — 
In the adult the bill is black. 


Tuts species, of a very remarkable genus, chiefly dis- 
tinguished from that of Europe by the absence of the white 
on the chin and throat, seems to have been first noticed by 
Pallas in the Crimea, and afterwards by Mr. Bullock in 
Mexico, from whence it appears, by an exclusive interior 
route, to penetrate into the wild and remote interior of 
Canada as far as the shores of the Athabaska lake. Mr. 
Townsend obtained a specimen at Fort McLaughlin, on 


408 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the north-west coast of America, in the month of Feb- 
ruary. 

Of the particular habits of this bird, little is yet known. 
Mr. Townsend remarks, that it ‘‘ inhabits the clear moun- 
tain streams in the vicinity of the Columbia. When ob- 
served, it was swimming among the rapids, occasionally 
flying for short distances over the surface of the water, 
and then diving into it, and reappearing after a long inter- 
val. Sometimes it will alight along the margin, and jerk 
its tail upwards like a Wren. I did not hear it utter any 
note. ‘The stomach was found to contain fragments of 
fresh-water snail-shells. I observed that this bird did not 
alight on the surface of the water, but dived immediately 
on the wing.” ‘The common European species are shy 
and solitary birds, dwelling near clear and tumultuous 
mountain streams, from the torrents of the Alps and 
Appennines, to the wilds of Scotland. It is also seen, 
even by the close of March, in Sweden, and Finland on 
the banks of the Tornea, near to cataracts, in the vicinity 
of the polar circle.* ‘They are never seen to perch on 
branches, frequent the gravelly beds of rivulets strewn with 
rocks, and flit from stone to stone, at times, attentively 
watching their aquatic prey ; as soon as it is espied, they 
plunge after it, beneath the water to the bottom, and never 
hesitate to enter the stream, and precipitate themselves 
without fear or danger amidst the eddies of the brawling 
flood. They even nest, occasionally, in the cavities, be- 
hind the waterfall where it overshoots the impending rocks. 
Water is, in fact, their proper element, though they are 
neither fitted to swim nor to wade with ordinary aquatic 
birds, but they fly with ease beneath it, across streams from 
bank to bank, against the force of the current. When the 


* Skioldebrand’s Picturesque Voyage to Cape North. p. 15, (French translation. ) 


AMERICAN WATER-OUSEL, OR DIPPER. 409 


water becomes deep enough for them to plunge, they open 
and drop their wings, with an agitated motion, and with 
the head stretched out, as in the ordinary act of flying in 
the air, descend to the bottom, and there, as if on the 
ground, course up and down in quest of food. While under 
the water, to which their peculiar plumage is impermeable, 
they appear silvered over with rapidly escaping aerial bub- 
bles, and bid defiance to every enemy while defended in so 
singular a retreat. When out of the water they fly direct 
and swift as an arrow, skimming the surface of their favorite 
element, in the manner of the Kingfisher ; and at the next 
moment, as the case may be, they are perhaps seen to plunge 
out of sight without alighting, and, like the Loon, again 
come into view in the eluding distance. While on the 
wing they utter a shrill and feeble cry, occasionally varied; 
and in the very depths of winter and early spring contri- 
bute to cheer their wild and dreary haunts by their simple, 
clear, and sweetly warbled notes, somewhat resembling 
those of the young Song Thrush. 

They pair early, and are said to raise two broods in the 
season. ‘I'he young, while yet unfledged, escape from 
threatening danger by dropping from their impending nest 
into the surrounding water. This curious cradle, by the 
side of some romantic mountain rivulet, on the ledge of a 
rock, steep mossy bank, or near some fallen block from the 
cliff, is made in the form of a dome, the frame-work often 
of moss (hypna) and sweet wood-roof (Asperala odorata), 
neatly arched over, perhaps, by a withered fern leaf, sur- 
mounted by a coating of green moss, and a few additional 
pieces of other slender materials. The lining or inner nest 
is composed of stems and leaves of grasses, and often 
copiously lined with beech leaves. Sometimes, under a 
bridge, the same pair have been known to renew their 
labors in the same place for three successive times. The 

3o 


410 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


young, from their situation, are readily supplied with water 
insects and smaller shell fish, their appropriate food. The 
eggs are 4 to 6, and white. Such are the habits of the 
common Dipper, which, in great part, also appears to apply 
to the American bird. 


The length of the American Dipper or Ousel is about 8 inches. 
The whole bird is of a dark grayish slate color ; at the upper orbit of 
the eye there is a slight indication of whitish. The general color 
somewhat deeper on the head, and a shade lighter beneath. The 
primaries incline somewhat to brown. Tail even. Feet flesh-color. 


Famity —SYLVICOLINA. WARBLERS. 


In these the prt is slender, straight, awl-shaped, higher 
than it is wide at the base, and furnished with scattered 
bristles; the lower mandible straight. Nosrrims basal, 
lateral, oval, half closed by amembrane. Tongue lacerated 
at tip. Tarsus longer than the middle toe; inner toe free; 
posterior nail shorter than the toe. —— Wings moderate or 
short : spurious feather generally short; Ist and 2d prima- 
ries, 2d and 3d, or 3d and 4th longest ; scapulars consider- 
ably shorter than the quill feathers. 

The female generally distinguished by a less vivid 
plumage. ‘The young usually resume the adult livery 
after the first moult. ‘They moult once, though in some 
species twice in the year. 


Of this numerous family there are species spread over the whole 
globe. They are generally small, sprightly, and endowed with an 
incessant activity, in accordance with the subtleness of their flying 
insect prey ; they therefore approach both in habit and character the 
Flycatchers, Vireos, Thrushes, Saxicolas, and Wrens so nearly, that 
it is rendered, at times, doubtful to which of these several genera 
they ought to be referred. They principally inhabit forests or thickets 
and some affect watery situations or reed marshes. Many are remark- 


" YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER, OR MYRTLE-BIRD. 411 


able for the melody of their song, and the sprightliness of the airs, 
which in the period of incubation they almost incessantly pour forth. 
The Nightingale, so celebrated for his powerful, varied, and pathetic 
lay, as well as the humble, but tuneful Robin Red-breast, belong to 
this highly vocal genus; and though many species seek out the arc- 
tic solitudes in which to waste their melody, or soothe alone their 
mates, yet other species may be numbered among the more familiar 
tenants of our gardens, groves, and orchards. Living almost exclu- 
sively on the winged insects of summer, which they dexterously 
catch in the air, or pick from off the leaves, they migrate to the south 
in autumn, and pass the winter in the warm or tropical regions. 
Some exist, more or less generally, on berries in the latter end of 
the year, and consequently find means thus to winter in the milder 
climates which are exempt from severe extremes. Among many of 
the species, the more active and vigorous male, intent on the object 
of his migration, precedes the arrival of the female. 


SYLVICOLA. (Swarns.) WOOD WARBLER. 


Wiru the bill short, nearly straight, strong, scarcely 
wider than high at the base, tapering and slightly declinate 
towards the tip, where there is a slight notch. — Tarsus 
longer than the middle toe. Outer and middle toe united 
to the second joint. Feeble bristles at the base of the 
upper mandible. 2d quill longest, Ist and 3d slightly 
shorter. Tail emarginate. — An American genus? not 
remarkable for melody, and subject to extensive periodical 
migrations. With the plumage rather brilliant and vari- 
ous. 


YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER, or MYRTLE- 
BIRD. 


(Sylvicola coronata, Swatns. Sylvia coronata, LatHAm. WILSON, ii. p. 
138. pl. 17. fig. 4. [summer plumage] and 5, p. 121. pl. 45. fig. 3. 
[young]. Aup, Orn. Biog. 2. p. 303. pl. 153. Philad. Museum, No. 
7134. 


412 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. ‘ 


Spec. Cuaract.— Blackish slate-color, streaked with black ; beneath 
white; breast spotted with black; crown, sides of the breast, and 
rump yellow; wings bifasciate with white, and with the tail black ; 
three lateral tail-feathers spotted with white. — Winter plumage 
edged with brownish-olive, the yellow of the crown partly con- 
cealed by a margin of the same olivaceous color; no black on the 
head or face. — Young more brown, with the yellow much paler, 
and nearly without black. 


Tue history of this rather common Warbler remains 
very imperfect. In the Middle and Northern States, it is 
a bird of passage, arriving from the South about the close 
of April or beginning of May, and proceeding north as far 
as Canada and Labrador to pass the summer season in the 
cares of breeding and rearing their young. As early as 
the 30th of August, or after an absence of little more than 
three months, they again appear ; and being a hardy spe- 
cies, passing parties continue with us in gardens and woods 
till about the close of November, feeding now almost ex- 
clusively on the myrtle-wax berries (Myrica cerifera), or 
on those of the Viginian juniper. These, other late and 
persisting berries, and occasional insects, constitute their 
winter food in the Southern States, where, in considerable 
numbers, in the swamps and sheltered groves of the sea- 
coast, they pass the cold season. In fine weather, in the 
early part of October, they may be seen, at times, collect- 
ing grasshoppers and moths from the meadows and pastures, 
and like the Blue-bird, they often watch for the appear- 
ance of their prey from a neighboring stake, low bough, 
or fence rail; and at this time are so familiar and unsus- 
picious, particularly the young, as fearlessly to approach 
almost within the reach of the silent spectator. At the 
period of migration, they appear in an altered and less 
brilliant dress ; the bright yellow spot on the crown is now 
edged with brownish-olive, so that the prevailing color of 
this beautiful mark is only seen on shedding the feathers 


YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER, OR MYRTLE-BIRD. 413 


with the hand; a brownish tint is also added to the whole 
plumage; but Wilson’s figure of this supposed autumnal 
change only represents the young bird. The old is, in 
fact, but little less brilliant than in summer, and I have a 
well-founded suspicion, that the wearing of the edges of 
the feathers, or some other secondary cause, alone pro- 
duces this change in the livery of spring, particularly as it 
is not any sexual distinction. 

While feeding they are very active, in the manner of 
Flycatchers, hovering among the cedars and myrtles with 
hanging wings, and only rest when satisfied with gleaning 
food. In spring they are still more timid, busy, and 
restless. According to Audubon, the nest and eggs are 
scarcely to be distinguished from those of Sylvia estiva; 
one which he examined from Nova Scotia, was made in 
the extremity of the branch of a low fir-tree, about five 
feet from the ground. When approached, or while feeding, 
they only utter a feeble, plaintive, ¢tship of alarm. This 
beautiful'species arrives here about the 7th or 8th of May, 
and now chiefly frequents the orchards, uttering, at short 
intervals, in the morning, a sweet and varied, rather 
plaintive warble, resembling, in part, the song of the 
Summer Yellow-bird, but much more the farewell, solitary, 
autumnal notes of the Robin Red-breast of Europe. .The 
tones, at times, are also so ventriloquial and variable in 
elevation, that it is not always easy to ascertain. the spot 
from whence they proceed. While thus engaged in quest 
of small caterpillars, it seems almost insensible to obtru- 
sion, and familiarly searches for its prey, however near we 
may approach. 


The Myrtle-bird is from 5 to 6 inches long, and 8 to 9 inches in 
alarextent. This difference in the size of individuals is very con- 
siderable. Above, a fine slate-color, the feathers centered with 
black ; crown, sides of the breast, and rump, rich lemon-yellow ; the 


35* 


414 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


wings and tail black, the former crossed with 2 bands of white, the 3 
exterior feathers of the latter spotted with white; cheeks and front 
black; chin, line over and under the eye, white. Breast cinereous, 
with black spots extending also under the wings; belly and vent 
white, the latter spotted with black. Bill and legs black. The 
female with fainter colors, and with a brownish tinge.— The princi- 
pal distinction between the spring and autumnal plumage, besides 
the clearness of the yellow crown, in the blackness of the cheeks. 
The plumage of the spring birds is very obviously worn, so that the 
brown edges of the feathers have nearly disappeared ; even the ends 
of the quills are completely rounded. This effect might naturally be 
expected, from the continual brushing of the feathers among the 
junipers and myrtles, in quest of the berries on which they feed. 


AUDUBON’S WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola Audubont, Towss. Avup. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 52. pl. 395. 
[male and female]. Sylvicola Auduboni, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 22.) 


Spec. Caaract.— Bluish-grey, spotted with black; breast and sides 
black ; throat, crown, rump, and a patch under the wings, yellow ; 
a broad band on the wing, belly, vent, and a large spot on the 5 
lateral tail feathers on either side, white.— Female paler, tinged 
with rufous; beneath spotted with black. 


Tuts elegant species, one of the beautiful and ever 
welcome harbingers of approaching summer, we observed 
about the middle of April, accompanying its kindred troop 
of Warblers, enlivening the dark and dreary wilds of the 
Oregon. The leaves of the few deciduous trees were now 
opening rapidly to the balmy influence of the advancing 
spring, and flowers, but rarely seen even by the botanists, 
sent forth their delicious fragrance, and robed in beauty 
the shady forests and grassy plains. But nothing con- 
tributes so much life to the scene as the arrival of those 
cheerful birds, the Thrushes and Warblers, which, uniting 
in one wild and ecstatic chorus of delight, seemed to por- 


AUDUBON’S WARBLER. A15 


tray, however transiently, the real rather than the imagin- 
ary pleasures of paradise; nor in these sad and distant 
wilds were the notes of the gilded messenger of Summer, 
(Sylvia estiva) the less agreeable that I had heard them 
a thousand times before. ‘he harmonies of Nature are 
not made to tire, but to refresh the best feelings of the 
mind, to recall the past, and make us dwell with delight 
upon that which best deserves our recollection. But what 
was my surprise to hear the accustomed note of the Sum- 
mer Yellow Bird delivered in an improved style by this 
new Warbler, clad in a robe so different, but yet so beauti- 
ful. Like that species also, he was destined to become our 
Summer acquaintance, breeding and rearing his offspring 
in the shady firs by the borders of the prairie openings, 
where he could at all times easily obtain a supply of insects 
or their larve. On the 8th of June, the young of this 
species, at that time so much like those of the Yellow- 
Rump Warbler, were already out in small roving and busy 
flocks, solicitously attended and occasionally fed by the 
still, watchful parents. We may notice in this species as 
a habit, that, unlike many other birds of its tribe, it 
mostly frequents trees, particularly the oaks, and the lower 
branches of those gigantic firs, which attain not uncom- 
monly a height of 240 feet, or more. In the branches of 
the latter, near a cliff, opening on a plain by the banks of 
the Oregon, I have reason to believe that a pair of this 
fine species had a nest, as great solicitude was expressed 
when I several times accidentally approached the place. 
Early in October, after moulting, they begin their migra- 
tions to the South, where they pass the winter. 

Length 53 inches, Wing a little more than 3 inches. The size, 
form and proportion of parts in this species and S. cororata,are almost 
precisely similar. The colors of the two are also exactly alike, 


excepting that the throat in the present species is yellow instead of 
white. The notes of the two are, however, entirely different. 


416 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


YELLOW RED-POLL WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola ruficapilla, Bonar. Sylvia ruficapilla, and S. petechia, Laru. 
Witson, iv. p. 19. pl. 28. fig. 4. S. palmarum, Bonar. (not of 
Larnam). Am. Orn. 2. pl. 10. fig. 2, [adult male]. Aup. Orn. Biog. 
2. p. 360. pl. 163. [adult male and young]. pl. 145. [male and 
female]. 2. p. 259. Philad. Museum, No. 7124.) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Yellow-olive, streaked with dusky; beneath and 
line over the eye yellow ; crown and spots of the breast bright 
bay; wings and tail blackish, edged with olive. — Female, desti- 
tute of the rufous crown. 


Tuts species, in small numbers, arrives in the Mid- 
dle and Northern States in the month of April; many 
proceed as far as Labrador, where they were seen in sum- 
mer by Audubon, and in the month of August, the young 
were generally fledged. In the Southern states they are 
abundant in winter. While here, like many other transient 
passengers of the family, they appear extremely busy in 
quest of their restless insect prey. They frequent low, 
swampy thickets, are rare, and their few feeble notes are 
said scarcely to deserve the name of a song. These 
stragglers remain all summer in Pennsylvania, but the nest 
is unknown. They depart in September, or early in 
October, and some probably winter in the southernmost 
States, as they were met with, in February, by Wilson, 
near Savannah. ‘This is a different species from the Palm 
Warbler, which probably does not exist in the United 
States. 

This bird appears yet to be very little known. Pen- 
nant has most strangely blended up its description with 
that of the Ruby-crowned Wren! his supposed female 
being precisely that bird. 


The length of this species is about 53 inches, and the alar extent 8 
to 9. The breast streaked with bay; crown of the head, from the base 


SUMMER YELLOW-BIRD OR WARBLER. 417 


of the bill, the same color. Rump yellow; tail converts greenish 
yellow ; the wings dark blackish brown, edged with yellow olive ; 
coverts and tertials edged with pale brown (in the spring when the 
feathers are worn). Tail a little forked, and of the color of the wings; 
the 2 lateral feathers with a large spot of pure white near to their 
tips. Legs and bill dusky brown, the latter shorter and more slender 
than in S. estiva.— In the young male the bay of the crown is edged, 
and the breast spotted with olive. 


SUMMER YELLOW-BIRD or WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola estiva, Swains. Sylvia estiva, Latu. Aupugon, pl. 95. 
[adult]. and pl. 35. S. Childreni, [young]. Orn. Biog. i. p. 476. 
S. citrinella, Witson, ii. p. 111, pl. 15. fig. 5, [male.] Burron, pl. 
enl. 53. No. 1. [female.] Phil. Museum, No. 7266.) 


Spec, Cuanact. — Greenish-yellow ; crown and beneath bright yel- 
low; breast and sides streaked with rufous orange; lateral tail- 
feathers interiorly yellow. — Female with the breast unspotted. — 
Young greenish, inclining to olive above; and with the throat 
nearly white. t 


Tis very common and brilliant summer species is 
found in all parts of the American continent from the con- 


418 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


fines of the arctic circle* to Florida and Texas, as well as 
Oregon and the Rocky Mountains, where it spends the 
mild season. About the middle of March, I already heard 
their song amidst the early blooming thickets and leafy 
woods of the Altamaha; but they do not arrive in Penn- 
sylvania and this part of New England before the Ist of 
May. About the close of August in the northern, and by 
the middle of September in the central States of the Union, 
or as soon as their second brood are capable of joining the 
migrating host, they disappear, probably in the twilight, 
and wing their way by easy stages to their tropical desti- 
nation, passing through Louisiana in October, and appear- 
ing, at length, about Vera Cruz, from whence they spread 
their numerous host through tropical America to Guiana, 
Cayenne, St. Domingo, and other of the larger contiguous 
islands of the West Indies. 

This is a very lively, unsuspicious, and almost familiar 
little bird, and its bright golden color renders it very con- 
Spicuous, as in pursuit of flitting insects, it pries and darts 
among the blooming shrubs and orchards. It is partic- 
ularly attached to willow trees and other kinds in moist 
and shady situations, that afford this and other species a 
variety of small larve and caterpillars, on which they de- 
light to feed. While incessantly and busily employed, it 
occasionally mounts the twig, and with a loud, shrill, and 
almost piercing voice, it earnestly utters, at short and 
irregular intervals, ’tsh’ ’tsh’ ’tsh’ ’tsh’ 'tshava, or tshe tshe 
tsh tshayia tshe tshe, this last phrase rather plaintive and 
interrogatory, as if expecting the recognition of its mate. 
Sometimes, but particularly after the commencement of 
incubation, a more extended and pleasingly modulated 
song is heard, as se te te tshitshoo, or tsh’ tsh’ tsh’ tsheet- 


* Met with as far as the 68th parallel, according to Richardson, 


SUMMER YELLOW-BIRD, OR WARBLER, AI9 


shoo, ’tshe ’tshe ’tshe’tshoo *peetshee, and ’tshe ’tshe ’tshe 
tshe ’tshaia ’tship 0 way, the termination tender, plaintive, 
and solicitous. I have heard this note also sometimes va- 
ried to ’soit ’soit ’soit ’soit ’tship a wee. The female some- 
times sings nearly as well as the male, particularly about 
the time she is engaged in fabricating her nest. Although 
their song may be heard, less vigorously, to the month of 
August, yet they do not here appear to raise more than a 
single brood. 

The nest, in Massachusetts, is commonly fixed in the 
forks of a barberry bush, close shrub, or sapling, a few 
feet from the ground; at other times, | have known the 
nest placed upon the horizontal branch of a horn-beam, 
more than 15 feet from the ground, or even 50 feet high 
in the forks of a thick sugar-maple or orchard tree. 
These lofty situations are, however, extraordinary ; and 
the little architects, in instances of this kind, sometimes 
fail of giving the usual security to their habitation. The 
nest is extremely neat and durable; the exterior is formed 
of layers of Asclepias or silk-weed lint, glutinously though 
slightly attached to the supporting twigs, mixed with some 
slender strips of fine bark and pine leaves, and thickly 
bedded with the down of willows, the nankeen-wool of 
the Virginian cotton-grass,* the down of fern stalks, the 
hair from the downy seeds of the button-wood (Platanus), 
or the pappus of compound flowers; and then lined either 
with fine-bent grass (Agrostis), or down, and horse-hair, 
and rarely with a few accidental feathers. Circumstances 
sometimes require a variation from the usual habits of the 
species. Ina garden in Roxbury, in the vicinity of Bos- 
ton, I saw a nest built in a currant-bush, in a small garden 
very near to the house; and, as the branch did not present 


* Eriophorum virginicum, 


420 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. ‘ 


the proper site of security, a large floor of dry grass and 
weeds was first made betwixt it and a contiguous board 
fence; in the midst of this mass of extraneous materials, 
the small nest was excavated, then lined with a considera- 
ble quantity of white horse-hair, and finished with an inte- 
rior bed of soft cow-hair. The season proving wet and 
stormy, the nest in this novel situation fell over, but was 
carried with the young to a safe situation near the piazza 
of the house, where the parents now fed and reared their 
brood. In an apple-tree, in another garden, a nest of this 
bird was made chiefly, to the lining, of loose white cotton 
strings, which had been used for training up some rasp- 
berry bushes, and looked as white and conspicuous as a 
snow-ball. Sometimes they condescend to the familiarity 
of picking up the sweepings of the seamstress; such as 
thread, yarn, sewing-silk, fine shreds of cotton stockings, 
and bits of lace and calico; and it is not uncommon to 
observe hasty disputes between our little architects and 
the Baltimore birds, as they sometimes seize and tug upon 
the loose or flowing ends and strings of the unfinished 
nest, to the great annoyance of the legitimate operators. 
The labor of forming the nest seems often wholly to de- 
volve on the female. On the 10th of May, I observed one 
of these industrious matrons busily engaged with her 
fabric in a low barberry bush, and by the evening of the 
second day, the whole was completed to the lining, which 
was made, at length, of hair and willow down, of which 
she collected and carried mouthfuls so large that she often 
appeared almost like a mass of flying cotton, and far ex- 
ceeded in industry her active neighbor, the Baltimore, who 
was also engaged in collecting the same materials. Not- 
withstanding this industry, the completion of the nest, 
with this and other small birds, is sometimes strangely pro- 
tracted or not immediately required. Yet, occasionally, I 


SUMMER YELLOW-BIRD, OR WARBLER. AQ] 


have found the eggs of this species improvidently laid on 
the ground. They are usually about 4 or 5, of a dull 
white, thickly sprinkled near the great end with various 
sized specks of pale brown. It is amusing to observe the 
sagacity of this little bird in disposing of the eggs of the 
vagrant and parasitic Cow Troopial. The egg, deposited 
before the laying of the rightful tenant, too large for eject- 
ment, is ingeniously incarcerated in the bottom of the 
nest, and a new lining placed above it, so that it is never 
hatched to prove the dragon of the brood. ‘Two instances 
of this kind occurred to the observation of my friend, Mr. 
Charles Pickering; and in 1833, I obtained a nest with 
the adventitious egg about two thirds buried, the upper 
edge only being visible, so that in many instances, it is 
probable, that this species escapes from the unpleasant 
imposition of becoming a nurse to the sable orphan of the 
Cow-bird. She, however, acts faithfully the part of a 
foster-parent when the egg is laid after her own. 

Doctor T. M. Brewer saw in one instance, and my friend 
Mr. James Brown, another, in which three of the Yellow- 
Bird’s own eggs were covered along with that of the Cow 
Black-bird. In a third, Dr. B. observed that after a Black- 
bird’s egg had been thus concealed, a second was laid, 
which was similarly treated, thus finally giving rise to a 
three-storied nest. 

The Summer Yellow-Bird, to attract attention from its 
nest, when sitting, or when the nest contains young, some- 
times feigns lameness, hanging its tail and head, and flut- 
tering feebly along, in the path of the spectator; at other 
times, when certain that the intrusion had proved harm- 
less, the bird would only go off a few feet, utter a feeble . 
complaint, or remain wholly silent, and almost instantly 
resume her seat. The male, as in many other species of 
the genus, precedes a little the arrival of his mate, To- 

36 


422 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


wards the latter end of summer the young and old feed 
much on juicy fruits, as mulberries, cornel berries, and 
other kinds. 


This species is about 5 inches long, and 7 in alar stretch. Above, 
greenish-yellow. Crown, front, and below, golden yellow; breast and 
sides spotted with rufous orange. Wings and tail deep brown, edged 
with yellow. Tail emarginated. Bill and eye-lids light greyish-blue. 
Legs pale. — Female generally without streaks on the breast. — The 
young, at first, olive, with but little yellow below. 


BLACK AND YELLOW or SPOTTED WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola maculosa, Swatns. Sylvia maculosa, Latu. Synops. ii. p. 
481. No. 104. <Avp. pl. 123. [adult] and pl. 50. [young.] 8S. mag- 
nolia, WiLSON, iii. p. 53. pl. 23. fig. 2 [male.] Phil. Museum, No. 
7783.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Crown ash; rump and beneath bright yellow; 
breast spotted with black; wings with 2 white bars; tail black ; 
the lateral feathers white on the middle of their inner vanes. — 
Female with the breast whitish and the colors duller. 


Tuts rare and beautiful species is occasionally seen in 
very small numbers, in the Southern, Middle, and Northern 
States, in the spring season, on its way to its northern 
breeding-places. In Massachusetts, I have seen it in this 
vicinity about the middle of May. Its return to the South 
is probably made through the western interior, a route so 
generally travelled by most of our birds of passage at this 
season, in consequence of which they are not met with, or 
but very rarely, in the Atlantic states in the autumn. In 
this season they have been seen at sea off the island of Ja- 
maica, and have been met with also in Hispaniola, whither 
they retire to pass the winter. Like all the rest of the ge- 
nus, stimulated by the unquiet propensity to migrate, they 


SUMMER YELLOW-BIRD, OR WARBLER. 423 


pass only a few days with us, and appear perpetually em- 
ployed in pursuing or searching out their active insect prey 
or larve ; and, while thus engaged, utter only a few chirp- 
ing notes. According to Mr. Hutchins, around Hudson’s 
Bay, it builds in the willows a nest composed of grass and 
feathers, lays 4 whitish eggs spotted with brown, and 
hatches its young in July. It has a shrill song, more than 
usually protracted on the approach of wet weather, so that 
the Indians bestow upon it the name of Rain Bird. Ac- 
cording to Audubon, many of these birds breed in Maine 
and the British Provinces, as well as in Labrador, and ex- 
tend their summer residence to the banks of the Saskat- 
chewan. They have also aclear and sweetly modulated 
song. 

Although rare in the United States, it appears, according 
to Richardson, that this elegant species is a common bird 
on the banks of the Saskatchewan; where it is as familiar 
as the common Summer Yellow Bird (S. @estiva), which it 
also resembles closely in its manners, and in its breeding 
station, but is gifted with a more varied and agreeable 
song. It frequents the thickets of young spruce trees and 
willows, flitting from branch to branch, at no great distance 
from the ground, actively engaged in the capture of winged 
insects, which now constitute its principal fare. 


The length of this species is about 5 inches ; alar extent 74. Front, 
lores, and behind the ear black, a white line over the eye, and a small 
touch of the same immediately under. The back nearly all black; 
rump yellow ; tail coverts deep black. Below rich yellow, spotted 
from the throat downwards with black ; vent white ; tail emarginate. 
Wings black, crossed with 2 broad bars of white. Crown fine ash. 
Legs brown. Bill black. 


424 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


CAPE MAY WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola maritima, Swatns. Sylvia maritima, Witson, vi. p. 99. pl. 
54. fig. 3. [male.] Aun. pl. 414. Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 32. pl. 3. 
fig. 3. [female ?]) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Yellow olive spotted with black ; crown and line 
through the eyes black; cheeks and beneath yellow; the breast 
spotted with black ; a broad white band on each wing; 3 lateral 
tail-feathers with a spot of white. — Female dull olive; beneath 
whitish, spotted with dusky. 


Tuts very rare Warbler has only been seen near the 
swamps of Cape May, by Edward Harris, Esq., near 
Moorestown, in New Jersey, and in the vicinity of Phila- 
delphia, about the middle of May, probably as a straggler 
on its way to some northern breeding-place. Its notes and 
further history are yet unknown. 


The length of this bird is 53 inches; the alar extent 84. Line from 
the nostril over the eye, chin, and sides of the neck, rich yellow ; the 
feathers round the ear orange. Wings dusky, edged with dark olive 
yellow. Below bright yellow; breast and sides under the wings, 
spotted with black ; belly and vent yellowish white. Tail dusky black 
and forked, edged with yellow olive. The yellow on the throat and 
sides reaches nearly round it. 


CANADA WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola pardalina, Bonar. Sylvia pardalina, Bonar. Muscicapa 
canadensis, L. Witson, iii. p. 100. pl. 26. fig. 2. [male.] Avup. Orn, 
Biog. il. p. 17. pl. 103. Phil. Museum, No. 6969.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Cinereous-brown ; crown ash, spotted with black ; 
beneath and line over the eyes yellow; breast with a crescent of 
black spots; tail immaculate. 


Tus is a rare summer species in the Atlantic States, 
appearing singly, and for a few days only, on their passage 


YELLOW-THROATED GREY WARBLER. 425 


north or south in the spring and autumn. ‘They breed in 
Canada and Labrador, and are more abundant in the moun- 
tainous interior, the route by which they principally mi- 
grate. hey winter in the tropical regions; are then silent, 
and, like the rest of their tribe, very active in darting 
through the branches after insects. 

Audubon found this species breeding in the Great Pine 
Forest of the Pokono in Pennsylvania, as well as in Maine, 
the British Provinces and Labrador. They have a short, 
unattractive note in the spring; and in the mountains where 
they dwell, they have a predilection for the shady borders 
of streams where the laurels* abound. They nest usually 
in low evergreens, and lay about 5 eggs, white with a few 
dots of brown red. 


This species is 54 inches long, and 9 in alar extent. Front black ; 
line from the nostril to and around the eye yellow; below the eye a 
stripe of black, descending along the sides of the throat, which, with 
the breast and belly, is bright yellow. A broad rounding band of black 
on the breast composed of black spots; vent white. Bill, the upper 
mandible dusky, the lower flesh-color; legs and feet the same. Eye 
hazel. 


YELLOW-THROATED GREY WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola pensilis, Bonar. Sylvia pensilis, Latu. Aupuson, pl. 85. 
[male] Orn. Biog. 1. p. 434. S. flavicollis, Wixson, ii. p. 64. pl. 12, 
fig. 6.) 


Spec. Cuaractr. — Bluish-grey; frontlet, ear-feathers, lores, and a 
space above the eyes, black; throat and breast yellow; belly and 
line over the eye white; sides spotted with black ; wings and tail 
black, varied with white. — Female duller colored ; the young with- 
out the yellow and black marks. 


* Rhododendron maximum. 


36* 


426 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Turis elegant and remarkable species resides in the 
West Indies, and also migrates in considerable numbers 
into the southern parts of the United States, particularly 
Louisiana and Georgia, from whence indeed they only 
absent themselves in the two inclement months of Decem- 
ber and January. They are seen in February in Georgia, 
but very rarely venture as far north as Pennsylvania. Their 
song is pretty loud and agreeable, according to Latham 
and Wilson, resembling somewhat the notes of the Indigo 
bird. In the tropical countries it inhabits, this delicate 
music is continued nearly throughout the year, and par- 
ticipated also by the female, though possessed of inferior 
vocal powers. It appears to have many of the habits 
of the Creeping Warbler (S. varia), running spirally 
around the trunks of the Pine trees, on which it alights, 
and ascending or descending in the active search of its 
insect fare. 

The sagacity displayed by this bird in the construction 
and situation of its nest is very remarkable. They are 
occasionally found in West Florida, and perhaps may also 
occur in South Carolina, where the bird is known likewise 
to reside. This curious fabric is suspended to a kind of 
ropes which hang from tree to tree, usually depending 
from branches that bend over rivers or ravines. The nest 
itself is made of dry blades of grass, the ribs of leaves, 
and slender root-fibres, the whole interwoven together with 
great art; it is also fastened to, or rather worked into, the 
pendant strings made of the tough silky fibres of some 
species of Echites, or other plant of that family. It is, in 
fact, a small circular bed, so thick and compact as to ex- 
clude the rain, left to rock in the wind without sustaining, 
or being accessible to any injury. The more securely to 
defend this precious habitation from the attacks of numer- 
ous enemies, the opening or entrance is neither made on 


BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. 427 


the top nor the side, but at the bottom; nor is the access 
direct, for after passing the vestibule, it is necessary to go 
over a kind of partition, and through another aperture, 
before it descends into the guarded abode of its eggs and 
young. ‘This interior lodgment is round and soft, being 
lined with a kind of lichen, or the silky down of plants.* 


This species is about 54 inches in length, and 8 in alar extent. 
Tail emarginate, black, edged with grey ; wings black, the first row 
of wing-coverts edged and tipped with white, the second row almost 
wholly white. Line between the eye and nostril, whole throat and 
middle of the breast, yellow ; the lower eye-lid, line over the eye, and 
spot behind the ear-feathers, as well as the whole lower parts, pure 
white; the yellow on the throat bordered with touches of black, 
which also extend on the sides under the wings. Bill black. Legs 
yellowish-brown. 


BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola virens, Swaixs. Sylvia virens, LatHam. WILSON, ii. p. 137. 
pl. 17. fig. 3. Aup. pl. 399. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 70. Green Warbler, Pen- 
nant’s Arct. Zodlogy, vol. ii. No. 297.) 


* A very different nest, resembling that of the Wood Pewee, is attributed to this 


species by Audubon, who also describes the eggs as white, with a few purple dots 
at the large end. 


428 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Spec. Cuaract. — Yellowish-green ; front, cheeks, sides of the neck, 
and line over the eye, yellow; beneath whitish; chin and throat 
to the breast black; 2 white bars on the wings, which, as well as 
the tail, are dusky; the 3 lateral tail-feathers marked with white. 
— Female with the chin yellow, and the throat blackish, tinged 
with yellow. 


Tus rather rare species arrives from its tropical winter- 
quarters in Pennsylvania towards the close of April or 
beginning of May. About the 12th of the latter month it 
is seen in this part of Massachusetts ; but never more than 
asingle pair are seen together. At this season, a silent 
individual may be occasionally observed, for an hour at a 
time, carefully and actively searching for small caterpillars 
and winged insects, amidst the white blossoms of the shady 
apple tree, and so inoffensive and unsuspicious is the little 
warbler, that he pursues, without alarm, his busy occupa- 
tion, as the spectator, within a few feet of him, watches at 
the foot of the tree. Tarly in October they are seen in 
small numbers roving restlessly through the forest, prepar- 
atory to their departure for the South. 

Though the greater part of the species probably proceed 
farther north to rear their young, a few spend the summer 
in the Middle and Northern States; but, from their tim- 
orous and retiring habits, it is not easy to trace out their 
retreats at the period of breeding. In the summer of 1839, 
however, on the Sth of June, I was so fortunate as to find 
a nest of this species in a perfectly solitary situation, on 
the Blue Hills of Milton. The female was now sitting, 
and about to hatch. The nest was in a low, thick, and 
stunted Virginia juniper. When I approached near to the 
nest, the female stood motionless on its edge, and peeped 
down in such a manner that I imagined her to be a young 
bird; she then darted directly to the earth and ran, but 
when, deceived, I sought her on the ground, she had very 


BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. 429 


expertly disappeared ; and I now found the nest to contain 
A roundish eggs, white, inclining to flesh-color, variegated, 
more particularly at the great end, with pale, purplish 
points of various sizes, interspersed with other large spots 
of brown and blackish. The nest was formed of circu- 
larly entwined fine strips of the inner bark of the juniper, 
and the tough white fibrous bark of some other plant, then 
bedded with soft feathers of the Robin, and lined with a 
few horse hairs, and some slender tops of bent-grass 
(Agrostis). 'The male was singing his simple chant, at 
the distance of a quarter of a mile from the nest, and was 
now nearly in the same dark wood of tall oaks and white 
pines in which I had first heard him a fortnight before. 
This simple, rather drawling, and somewhat plaintive song, 
uttered at short intervals, resembled the syllables, ’te dé 
teritscd, sometimes te derisca, pronounced pretty loud and 
slow, and the tones proceeded from high to low. In the 
intervals he was perpetually busied in catching small cy- 
nips, and other kinds of flies, keeping up a smart snapping 
of his bill, almost similar to the noise made by knocking 
pebbles together. ‘This quaint and indolent ditty I have 
often heard before in the dark and solitary woods of West 
Pennsylvania; and here, as there, it affords an agreeable 
relief in the dreary silence and gloom of the thick forest. 
This note is very much like the call of the Chicadee, and 
at times both are heard amidst the reigning silence of the 
summer noon. In the whole district of this extensive hill 
or mountain, in Milton, there appeared to exist no other 
pair of these lonely warblers but the present. Another 
pair, however, had probably a nest in the vicinity of the 
woods of Mount Auburn in Cambridge; and in the spring 
of the present year (1831) several pair of these birds were 
seen for a transient period, 


430 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


This species is about 44 inches in length, and 73 in alar extent. 
Chin and throat, to the breast black ; sides under the wings spotted 
with the same ; breast and belly white, tinged with very pale yellow; 
vent white. Wings dusky, with 2 white bars. The 3 exterior tail- 
feathers spotted on their inner webs with white; the spots on the 2 
outer tail-feathers very extensive. Bill black. Legs and feet brown- 
ish-yellow. 

Nearly related to the present species, apparently, is the Yellow- 
Fronted Warbler of Latuam and Prnnant, said to be a spring pas- 
sage bird through Pennsylvania. In this the forehead and crown 
are of a bright yellow; from the bill extends through the eyes a 
band of black, bounded on each side with white. The chin, throat, 
and lower side of the neck are black. Breast and belly white. The 
upper part of the neck, back, rump, and lesser coverts of the wings 
are of a light bluish-grey, the greater coverts and lower order of 
lesser bright yellow, forming a large spot on each wing. Primaries 
and tail deep ash-color; the inner webs of the exterior tail-feathers 
spotted with white. 


BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola Blackburniea, Jarpinx. Sylvia Blackburnie, Lata. Witson, 
ii. p. 64. pl. 23. fig. 3. Aup. pl. 135. [male]. and pl. 399. [female]. 
Orn. Biog. ii. p. 208. Phil. Museum, No. 7060.) 


Spec. Cuaract. —The head striped with black and orange ; throat 
and breast orange, bounded by black spots; wings with a large 
white space ; the 3 lateral tail-feathers white on the inner web. — 
Female yellow, without orange, and the black spots fewer. 


Tus is one of the rarest and most beautiful species of 
the genus, which, from the Ist to the 15th of May, or 
sometimes later, pays a transient visit to the Middle and 
Northern States, on its way to its remote boreal place of 
retirement for the breeding season. It is still more rarely- 
seen in the autumn, about the month of September, on its 
passage to tropical America, where it winters, as may be 
presumed from its occurrence late in autumn about Vera 


ORANGE-THROATED WARBLER. 431 


Cruz, according to Mr. Bullock. It is an exceedingly 
nimble insect-hunter, keeping towards the tops of trees, 
scarcely uttering even an audible chirp, and at this season, 
no song, as far as is yet known. 

On the Magdalene Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
in June, Audubon remarks that he heard the song of this 
beautiful warbler, consisting of five or six loud notes, which 
it uttered from the branches of a fir-tree while engaged in 
quest of its prey. The nest found in Nova Scotia was 
made externally of coarse materials and lined with silky 
fibres, and delicate strips of bark, over which lay a thick 
bed of feathers and horse hair. The eggs, very small, 
were pure white with a few spots of light red towards the 
larger end. It was found in a small fork of a tree, 5 or 6 
feet from the ground, near a brook. Dr. Brewer also found 
a nest of this species in Massachusetts. 


The Blackburnian Warbler is only about 44 inches long, and about 
7 in alar extent. A stripe of rich orange passes over the eye, and 
there is a small touch of the same beneath it; the throat and breast 
almost approach the fiery color of red-lead, bounded by spots and 
streaks of black; the belly dull yellow, also streaked with black ; 
vent white. The back black, skirted with ash; wings the same, 
marked with a large lateral patch of white; tail a little forked. 
Cheeks black. Bill and legs brown. — Female above light olivaceous, 
the feathers dusky in the centre; a faint greenish-yellow spot on the 
top of the head ; band over the eye dull yellow, that on the lore and 
cheek brown; fore part of the neck yellow, tinged with orange. 


ORANGE-THROATED WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola auricolis, Novis. Sylvia auricolis, Laruam, iv. p. 481. No. 
103, Pennant, Arct. Zodl. No. 304.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Olive-green; rump and tail-coverts cinereous ; 
primaries brown; throat and under side of the body, orange; 
vent white. — Female with the colors paler. 


432 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Tuts is another rare and transient species, which pro- 
ceeds from its winter-quarters in Mexico and the Southern 
States as far as Canada, in summer, to breed. About the 
23d of March, I saw numbers of these birds in the lower 
parts of Georgia, feeding partly on berries, and on insects, 
in the pursuit of which they were busily engaged. I have, 
very rarely, seen an individual in this part of Massachusetts 
towards the close of spring; and it appears that Brisson 
received it from Canada. 


Above olive-green, except the lower part of the back, rump, and 
greater wing-coverts, which are cinereous ; primaries brown, edged 
with dark ash, on the inner webs with dirty white. 2 middle tail- 
feathers ash, the rest black on the outside and at the tips, white within. 
Beneath orange, except the vent, which is white. Bill brown, be- 
neath paler. Legs grey. 


CHESNUT-SIDED WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola icterocephala, Swains. Sylvia icterocephala, Latu. Avpu- 
BON, pl. 59. Orn. Biog. i. p. 306. S. pennsylvanica, W1LsoN, il. p. 99. 
pl. 14. fig. 5. Phil. Museum, No. 7006.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Crown yellow; under side of the body white ; 
sides from the throat chesnut; wings with 2 pale yellow bands; 
the 3 lateral tail-feathers marked with white. — Female with the 
crown and chesnut sides paler. 


Tuts rare and beautiful Sylvia, which probably win- 
ters in tropical America, appears in the Middle and 
Northern States early in May on its way north to breed ; 
they are also seen in the spring in Canada and around 
Hudson’s Bay. A few remain, no doubt, to rear their 
young in secluded mountainous situations, in the North- 
ern States; as, on the 22d of May (18390), a pair appeared 
to have fixed on their summer abode, near the summit of 


CHESNUT-SIDED WARBLER. 433 


the Blue Hilis of Milton. The note of the male was very 
similar to that of the Summer Yellow-Bird, being only a 
little louder, and less whistling; it resembles ’tsh ’tsh ’tsh 
’tshyva, given at about an interval of half a minute, and 
answered by his mate at some distance, near which, it is 
probable, there was a nest. He appeared to be no way 
suspicious of our approach; his restlessness was subdued, 
and he quietly sat near the same Jow bushes, amusing him- 
self and his consort for an hour at a time, with the display 
of his lively and simple ditty. On their first arrival, pre- 
vious to pairing, they are like the rest of the genus, gen- 
erally restless, and intently engaged in the chase of insects 
amidst the blossoms and tender leaves; they likewise pur- 
sue common and green bottle flies with avidity and success. 
On the 27th of June (1831) I observed a pair selecting 
food for their young, with their usual address and activity, 
by the margin of a bushy and secluded swamp on the west 
side of Fresh Pond, in this vicinity; but I had not the 
good fortune to discover the nest. I have, however, since, 
I believe, discovered the nest of this bird, in a hazel copse 
in a wood in Acton, in this state. It is fixed in the forked 
twigs of a hazel about breast high. The fabric is rather 
light and airy, being made externally of a few coarse 
blades and stalks of dead grass, then filled in with finer 
blades of the same, the whole matted and tied with cater- 
pillar’s silk, and lined with very slender strips of brown 
bark and similar white pine leaves. It appeared to have 
been forsaken before its completion, and the eggs I have 
never seen. 

In the woods around Farranville, on the Susquehannah, 
within the range of the Alleghany chain, in the month of 
May (1830), I saw and heard several males in full song, in 
the shady forest trees by a small stream, and have no doubt 

37 


434 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


of their breeding in that situation, though I was not for- 
tunate enough to find a nest. 


Length from 5 to 53 inches, alar extent about 8. The front, line 
over the eye, and ear-feathers white; crown brilliant lemon yellow; 
a triangular patch of black beneath the eye and connected with the 
lores ; hind-head grey and black; feathers of the back and rump 
black, edged with greenish yellow. Wings dusky, the primaries edged 
with whitish ; the lst and 2d row of coverts broadly tipped with pale 
yellow; the secondaries edged with greenish yellow. Tail forked, 
dusky exteriorly, edged with ash or with greenish-grey. Sides from 
the back beneath the eye to the thighs, furnished with a broad stripe 
of bright chesnut, the rest of the parts below pure white. Legs and 
feet dusky. Bill black. Iris hazel. 


BAY-BREASTED WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola castanea, Swans. Sylvia castanea, Wixson, ii. p. 97. pl. 
14. fig. 4. Avpvzon, pl. 69. Orn. Biog. i. p. 358. Phil. Museum, 
No. 7311.) 


Spec. Cuaract. —Forehead and cheeks black; crown, throat, and 
sides under the wings, bay ; the wings with 2 white bars; 3 lateral 
tail-feathers marked with white.— The female with less and paler 
bay on the breast, and less black on the head. 


Tuts is a still rarer and more transient visitor than the 
last. It arrives in Pennsylvania from the south some time 
in April, or about the beginning of May, and towards the 
12th or 15th of the same month it visits Massachusetts, 
but seldom stays more than a week or ten days, and is very 
rarely seen on its return in autumn. Audubon once ob- 
served these birds in Louisiana late in June, so that they 
probably sometimes breed in very secluded places, without 
regularly proceeding to the northern regions. It is an ac- 
tive insect-hunter, and keeps much towards the tops of the 
highest trees, where it darts about with great activity and 


BLACK-POLL WARBLER. 435 


hangs from the twigs with fluttering wings. One of these 
birds, which was wounded in the wing, soon became re- 
conciled to confinement, and greedily caught at and de- 
voured the flies which I offered him; but from the extent 
of the injury, he did not long survive. In habits and man- 
ners, as well as markings, this species greatly resembles 
the preceding. 


Its length is about 5 inches ora little more; the alar extent 11. 
The crown avery bright bay. Beneath, except the sides, ochreous 
white ; hind-head and back streaked with black ona greyish buff 
ground. Wings brownish-black with 2 bars of white. Tail forked, 
brownish-black, edged with ash. Behind the eye is a broad oblong 
spot of yellowish-white, inclining to buff. Legs dusky. Bill black. 
Iris hazel. 


BLACK-POLL WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola striata, Swains. Sylvia striata, Laru. Wixson, iv. p. 40. 
pl. 30. fig. 3. [male] ; and vi. p. 101. pl. 54. fig. 3. [female.] Avp. 
pl. 133. Orn. Biog. 2. p. 200. Phil. Museum, No. 7054.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Crown black ; cheeks and beneath white ; wings 
with 2 white bands, the tail blackish ; 2 or 3 lateral tail-feathers 
marked internally with white. — Female and young dull yellowish- 
olive, streaked with black and grey ; beneath white; cheeks and 
sides of the breast tinged with yellow. 


Tuts rather common and well marked species is ob- 
served to arrive in Pennsylvania from the South about 
the 20th of April, but in Massachusetts hardly before the 
middle of May; it returns early in September, and ap- 
pears to feed wholly on insects. In the Middle States it is 
confined chiefly to the woods, where, in the summits of the 
tallest trees, it is seen in busy pursuit of its favorite prey. 
On its first arrival it keeps usually in the tops of the ma- 
ples, darting about amidst the blossoms. As the woods 


436 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


become clothed with leaves, it may be found pretty gen- 
erally as a summer resident; it often also seeks the banks 
of creeks and swamps, in which situations it probably 
passes the breeding season. In this vicinity they are some- 
times familiar visitors in the lowest orchard-trees, where 
they feed on cankerworms and other small caterpillars, as 
well as flies of different kinds, &c. At this time, towards 
the month of June, it is no longer a restless wanderer, but 
having fixed upon its station for the summer, it now begins, 
in a humble way, to display its musical talents in the cher- 
ished and constant company of its faithful mate. This 
note, uttered at intervals of half a minute, is like the sound 
of tsh’ tsh tsh tshé tshé, from low to high, but altogether 
so shrill and slender as to sound almost like the faint filing 
of a saw. This species extends its migrations to New- 
foundland, according to Pennant. In the month of June, 
Audubon found the nest of this species in Labrador placed 
about three feet from the ground, in the fork of a small 
branch, close to the main stem of a fir tree; it was formed 
of green and white moss and lichens, intermixed with 
coarse dried grass; within this was a layer of bent grass, 
the lining of dark colored dry moss, looked like horse-hair, 
and was arranged in a circular direction with great care ; 
lastly, was a thick bed of large soft feathers, some of them 
were from Ducks, but most of them from the Willow Grous. 
It contained 4 eggs. 


The Black-Poll Warbler is 54 inches long, and 84 in alar extent. 
The crown and hind-head is black (in the male), the latter bounded 
behind by greyish-white. Cheeks white ; from each side of the lower 
mandible runs a chain of small black spots becoming larger on the 
sides; primaries black, edged with greenish yellow. Back ash, a 
little inclining to olive, and largely spotted with black. Tail black, 
edged with ash; vent white. Bill black above, yellowish white be- 
low. Iris hazel. Legs and feet yellow. 


PINE WARBLER. 437 


PINE WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola pinus, Jarp. Sylvia pinus, Laru. Witson, iil. p. 25. 
pl. 19. fig. 4. Avp. pl. 140. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 232. [adult.] S. Vigor- 
sii, Aup. pl. 30. Orn. Biog. vol. i. p. 153. [young.] Phil. Museum, 
No. 7312.) 


Spec. Cnaracr. — Bright olive-yellow, tinged with green; beneath 
yellow, clouded with obscure spots; vent white; wings with 2 
whitish bands, and with the tail dusky brown; 2 lateral tail- 
feathers partly white ; lores not black. — Female greyish-brown, 
tinged with olive green on the back ; beneath pale yellow on the 
breast. — Young dusky olive above, yellowish obscure white below. 


Tuts common species, to the commencement of winter, 
inhabits all parts of the United States, and probably extends 
its northern migrations to the forests of Newfoundland. 
They arrive in Pennsylvania at the close of March and 
beginning of April, and soon after are seen in all parts of 
New England, amidst the pine and juniper forests, in which 
they principally reside. Both the old and young remain 
with us till nearly the close of October; stragglers have 
even been seen in mid-winter in the latitude of 43 degrees.* 
In winter they rove through the pine forests and barrens of 
the Southern States in companies of 20 to 50 or more, 
alighting at times on the trunks of the trees, and attentively 
searching them for lurking larve, but are most frequently 
employed in capturing the small insects which infest the 
opening buds of the pine, around which they may be seen 
perpetually hovering, springing, or creeping, with restless 
activity ; in this way they proceed, from time to time, forag- 
ing through the forest; occasionally, also, they alight on 
the ground in quest of worms and grubs of various kinds, 
or dart irregularly after hovering flies, almost in the manner 


* Mr. Charles Pickering. 
Thi 


438 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


of the Flycatchers. In these states they are by far the 
most numerous of all the Warblers. In the month of 
March they already began to show indications for pairing, 
and jealous contests ensued perpetually among the males. 
The principal body of the species probably remain the 
year round in the southern forests, where I saw them 
throughout the winter; great numbers are also bred in the 
Northern States. In summer their food is the eggs and 
larve of various insects, as well as flies or cynips, cater- 
pillars, coleoptera, and ants. In autumn, the young fre- 
quent the gardens, groves, and orchards, feeding likewise 
on berries of various kinds, as on those of the cornel, wild 
grape, and five-leaved ivy ; at this season they are very fat, 
and fly and forage in families. ‘They now only utter a 
shrill and plaintive chip. I have had a male Pine Warbler, 
domesticated for a short time; he fed gratefully, from the 
instant he was caught, upon flies, small earth-worms, and 
minced flesh, and was so tame and artless, as to sit con- 
tented on every hand, and scarcely shift himself securely 
from my feet. On offering him drink he walked directly 
into the vessel, without using the slightest precaution or 
exhibiting any trace of fear. His ¢ship and manner in all 
respects were those of the Autumnal Warbler. 

The song of the Pine Warbler, though agreeable, 
amidst the dreary solitude of the boundless forests which 
he frequents, has but little compass er variety ; sometimes 
it approaches the simplest trill of the Canary, but it is 
commonly a reverberating, gently rising, or murmuring 
sound, like er ’r’r’r’r’r’r dh; or, in the spring, ’twe 
’'twe ’tw’tw’tw’tw ’tw, and sometimes like ’tsh ’tsh ’tsh 
‘tw ’tw’tw ’tw ’tw; when hearkened to some time, there 
is a variation in the cadence, which, though rather feeble 
at a distance, is not unpleasant, as the little minstrel tunes 
his pipe during the heat of the summer day, while he 


PINE WARBLER. 439 


flits gently and innocently fearless through the shady 
boughs of the pine or cedar in perpetual quest of his un- 
tiring prey. ‘This song is commonly heard at a consid- 
erable distance from his mate and nest, from whom he 
often widely strays, according to the success of his pre- 
carious pursuit. As the sound of the warble varies from 
slender to high or low, it is often difficult to discover the 
retreat of the little busy musician, which appears far or 
near with the modulation of his almost ventriloquous note. 
The female likewise tunes, at times, her more slender lay 
in a wiry tone, almost like that of the S. varia, in early 
spring. 

About the 7th of June (1830) I discovered a nest of 
this species in a Virginian juniper, near Mount Auburn in 
this vicinity, at the height of about 40 feet from the 
ground. It was firmly fixed in the upright twigs of a close 
branch. The nest was thin, but very neat; the principal 
material was the wiry old stems of the slender knot-weed 
(Polygonum tenue), circularly interlaced, and connected 
externally with rough linty fibres of some species of As- 
clepias, and blended with caterpillar’s webs. The lining 
was made of a few hogs’ bristles, slender root-fibres, a mat 
of the down of Fern stalks, and one or two feathers of the 
Robin’s breast ; a curious medley, but all answering the 
purpose of warmth and shelter for the expected brood. I 
saw several of these nests, which had at different times 
been thrown to the ground, and in all, the wiry grass and 
general material were the same as in the one now describ- 
ed; and this, of course, is entirely different from that 
given by Wilson on the authority of Mr. Abbot. The nest 
there mentioned, is nothing more than the usual pendulous 
fabric of the Red-eyed Warbling Flycatcher. The eggs 
in ours were 4, and, advanced towards hatching, they were 
white, with a slight tinge of green, very full of small pale 


440 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


brown spots, somewhat more numerous towards the larger 
end, where they appear connected or aggregated around a 
purplish ground. The female made some little complaint, 
but almost immediately resumed her seat, though 2 of the 
eggs were taken away; the male made off immediately, 
and was but seldom seen near the place. 


The length of the Pine Warbler is about 53 inches ; the alar extent 
84 to 9. Above, yellowish-green, inclining to olive; throat, sides, 
and breast yellow, clouded at the sides near the breast with a few 
olive spots. Wings and tail dusky brown, the former marked with 2 
bars of whitish. Tail forked and edged with ash, the two exterior 
feathers marked near the tip with a broad spot of white ; vent white. 
Iris hazel. — The young in their first plumage, while fed by the old, 
are above dusky-olive, and below greyish-white, with scarcely any 
yellow. Before leaving us in the autumn, the male, however, very 
different from the Autumnal Warbler, acquires below, a yellow, more 
brilliant than at any other period of its existence. 


HEMLOCK WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola parus, Jarp. Sylvia parus, Wiison, 5. p. 114. pl. 44. fig. 
3. [male] and S. autwmnalis, iii. p. 65. pl. 23. fig. 4. [young.] Aun. 
pl. 134. [adult] Orn. Biog. it. p. 205. and pl. 88. (S. autumnalis,) 
Orn. Biog. 1. p. 447. [young].) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Yellow-olive with black spots ; head above yellow, 
dotted with black ; line over the eye, sides of the neck, and breast, 
yellow; wings with 2 broad white bands, and with the tail black; 
the 3 lateral tail-feathers white on their inner vanes. 


Tne very rare adult of this species was found by Wilson 
in the spring, in the Great Pine Swamp in Pennsylvania; 
and appeared to take up its residence in the dark hemlock 


HEMLOCK WARBLER. 441 


trees* of that desolate region. It was very lively and ac- 
tive, climbing among the branches and hanging from the 
twigs like a Titmouse. It darted after flies to a conside-— 
rable distance, and beginning with the lower branches, 
hunted with regularity upwards to the summit of the tree, 
and in this way it proceeded very industriously to forage 
through the forest till satisfied. At intervals, it stopped an - 
instant to warble out a few low and sweet notes, probably 
for the recognition or company of its mate, which the dis- 
coverer, however, did not see. 

The nest of this species, according to Audubon, who 
discovered it in the Great Pine Swamp, was made ina 
Hemlock or Spruce tree at a considerable elevation. Lich- 
ens, dry leaves of the Hemlock, and slender twigs formed 
the exterior, it was then lined with hair or fur, and the 
feathers of the Ruffed Grous. He afterwards met with 
this species in Maine and Newfoundland. 

Nothing is more remarkable in the history of this 
species, than the rarity of the adult and the abundance of 
the young birds; these last, which we have long known as 
the Autumnal Warbler, appear in gregarious flocks in the 
larger solitary forests of Massachusetts as early as the 20th 
of July, assembled from the neighboring districts probably, 
in which they have been reared. ‘They remain there 
usually until the middle of October, at which time they 
are also seen in the Middle States. They feed on small 
insects and berries. Late in the season, on a fine autum- 
nal morning, troops of them may be seen in the fields and 
lanes, sometimes descending to the ground, and busily em- 
ployed in turning over the new fallen leaves, or perambu- 
lating and searching the chinks of the bark of the trees, 
or the holes in the posts of the fence in quest of lurking 


* Abies canadensis, 


442 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


moths and spiders; and while thus eagerly engaged, they 
are occasionally molested or driven away by the more le- 
gitimate Creepers or Nuthatches, whose jealousy they thus 
arouse by their invasion. Larlier in the season they prey 
on cynips, flies, and more active game, in pursuit of which 
they may be seen fluttering and darting through the ver- 
dant boughs of the forest trees. One of these little vis- 
itors, which I obtained by its flying inadvertently into an 
open chamber, soon became reconciled to confinement, 
flew vigorously after house flies, and fed greedily on grass- 
hoppers and Ivy berries (Cissus hederacea); at length it be- 
came so sociable as to court my acquaintance, and eat 
from my hand. Before I restored it to liberty, its occa- 
sional tweet attracted several of its social companions to 
the windows of its prison. At this time they are destitute 
of song, and only utter a plaintive call of recognition. 


The Hemlock Warbler is about 54 inches long, and 8 in alar ex- 
tent. Above yellow-olive, spotted with black. The belly of a paler 
yellow than the breast, and streaked with dusky; round the breast 
some small streaks of blackish. Wings black, the greater coverts 
and next superior row broadly tipt with white, forming 2 bars; pri- 
maries edged with olive, tertials with white. Tail-coverts black, tipt 
with olive; the tail slightly forked, and also edged with olive. Bill 
black above, pale below. Legs and feet dusky yellow. Iris hazel. 


BLUE MOUNTAIN WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola montana, Aup. Sylvia montana, Witson, v. p. 113. pl. 44. 
fig. 2. [male.] Aup. Orn. Biog. 5, p. 294. pl. 434.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Yellow-olive; front, cheeks, chin, and sides of 
the neck yellow; breast and belly pale yellow, streaked with 
dusky ; wings with 2 white bars, and with the rounded tail black ; 
the 2 lateral tail-feathers white on the inner vanes below the sum- 
mits. 


PRAIRIE WARBLER. 443 


Tuts is another very rare species allied to the Pine 
Warbler, which visits the United States during summer, 
and was discovered near the Blue Mountains by Wilson ; 
it has also been obtained in California, though we did not 
see it in any part of the Oregon Territory. Its habits are 
much the same as the preceding, and its song a feeble 
screep, three or four times repeated. Its rounded tail is a 
striking external trait of distinction. 


It is 43 inches long. Vent pale yellow; quills edged with whitish ; 
tail edged with pale olive. Bill dark brown. Legs and feet purple 
brown. Iris hazel.— Female unknown. 


PRAIRIE WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola discolor, Bonar. Sylvia discolor, Vir1LL. AvupuBon, pl. 14. 
Orn. Biog. i. p. 76. S. minuta, Wison, iii. p. 87. pl. 25. fig. 4. Phil. 
Museum, No. 7784.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Yellow-olive, spotted on the back with bay ; be- 
neath yellow, spotted at the sides with black; wings with 2? 
yellow bars, and with the tail dusky; 3 lateral tail-feathers broadly 
spotted with white. — Male with a black crescent under the eye. — 
Female less spotted, and without the crescent. 


Tuts species, rare in the Atlantic states, appears to be 
somewhat more common in the solitary barrens of Ken- 
tucky, and the open woods of the Choctaw country ; here 
they prefer the open plains thinly covered with trees; and 
without betraying alarm at the visits of a spectator, lei- 
surely pursue their search for caterpillars and small flies, 
examining among the leaves or hopping among the 
branches, and, at times descending pretty near, and famil- 
iarly examining the observer, with a confidence and curi- 
osity seldom witnessed in these shy and retiring species. 
Such was the conduct of a male bird in this vicinity, on 


444 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the 4th of June, whom I discovered by his slender filing 
notes which were uttered every half minute, and like those 
of the Black Poll Warbler, resembled the suppressed syl- 
lables ’tsh ’tsh ’tsh ’tshéa’, beginning low and gradually 
growing louder, having nearly the same slender whistle as 
that species, though somewhat stronger. The pair were 
busily engaged collecting flies and larve from a clump of 
young locust trees, in the woods of Mount Auburn, and 
occasionally they flitted among the Virginian junipers; the 
familiar visit of the male appeared for the purpose of dis- 
covering my intentions near the nest, about which he was 
naturally solicitous, though he made his approaches with 
the appearance of accident. The female was more timid ; 
yet, while I was still engaged in viewing this little interest- 
ing and secluded pair, she, without any precaution or con- 
cealment, went directly to the nest in the forks of a low 
barberry bush, near by, and when there, she sat and looked 
at me some time before she removed. She made, however, 
no pretences to draw me away from the spot, where she 
was sitting on 4 eggs, of which I took away 2; her ap- 
proaches to the nest were now more cautious, and she 
came escorted and encouraged by the presence of her 
mate. Two eggs were again soon added, and the young 
brood, I believe, reared without any accident. 

The nest was scarcely distinguishable from that of the 
Summer Yellow-Bird, being fixed in a trifid branch (not 
pensile), and formed of strips of inner red-cedar bark and 
Asclepias fibres, also with some caterpillars’ silk, and 
thickly lined with cud-weed down (Gnaphalium planta- 
gineum) and slender tops of bent-grass (Agrostis — sp.) 
The eggs, 4 or 5, were white, rather sharp at the lesser 
end, marked with spots of lilac-purple, and others of two 
different shades of brown rather numerous at the great 
end, where they appear almost collected together into a 


HERMIT WARBLER. 445 


circle. The nest, according to Audubon, like that of the 
Vireos, is pendulous from two twigs, or 3 or 4 blades of 
grass, and is coated externally with grey lichens. The 
great difference in the nest, described by Wilson and Au- 
dubon, is to me unaccountable ; my opportunity for exam- 
ination, so long continued, seemed to preclude the possi- 
bility of error in the investigation ; neither can I compare 
the slender note of this species to any whirring sound, 
which would more nearly approach to the song of the Pine 
Warbler. They visit this part of Massachusetts about the 
first or second week in May, and, according to the obser- 
vations of my friend Mr. Cooper, are seen probably about 
the same time in the vicinity of New York, in small num- 
bers, and in pairs, and retire to winter in the West Indies, 
about the middle of September. 

The Prairie Warbler is about 5 inches in length, and 7 in alar ex- 
tent. Above yellow-olive, inclining to green, and considerably 
brighter on the crown; a few pale bay spots mingled with the olive 
on the upper part of the back. From the nostrils, over and under 
the eye, yellow. Lores black. Below rich yellow; vent pale yel- 


low. Wings dusky; coverts edged and tipt with pale yellow; quills 
and dusky tail edged with yellow olive. 


HERMIT WARBLER. 

(Sylvicola occidentalis. Sylvia occidentalis, Towns. Aup. Orn. Biog. 5. 
p. 5d. pl. 395. f. 3, 4.) 

Spec. Cuaract.— Plumbeous, spotted with black as far as the back 
of the neck ; upper part of the head, and sides of the face to the 
shoulders, yellow ; throat black; the belly and inner web of the 
two lateral tail-feathers on either side, white. — Female paler, the 
head spotted nearly all over, and the throat whitish. 


Tue Hermit Warbler, I have little doubt, breeds in the 
dark forests of the Columbia, where we saw and heard it 
singing in the month of June, near the outlet of the Wah- 
lamet. It is aremarkably shy and solitary bird, retiring 

38 


446 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


into the darkest and most silent recesses of the evergreens, 
where, gaining a glimpse of light by ascending the loftiest 
branches of the gigantic firs, it occupies in solitude a 
world of its own, but seldom invaded even by the prying 
Jay, who also retreats, as a last resort, to the same sad 
gloom. In consequence of this eremitic predilection, it is 
with extreme difficulty that we ever got sight of our wily 
and retiring subject, who, no doubt breeds and feeds in the 
tops of these firs. Its song, frequently heard from the 
same place, at very regular intervals, for an hour or two at 
a time, is a soft, moody, faint, and monotonous note, ap- 
parently delivered chiefly when the bird is at rest on some 
lofty twig, and within convenient hearing of its mate and 
only companion of the wilderness. 

Mr. Townsend obtained a pair of these birds near to 
Fort Vancouver, on the 28th of May, 1835. He found 
them flitting among the fir trees in the depth of the forest. 
They were actively engaged in searching for insects, and 
were frequently seen hanging from the twigs like 'Titmice. 
Their note was uttered at distant intervals, and resembled 
very much that of the Black-throated Blue Warbler. (Syl- 
vicola canadensis.) 


Lenvth about 54 inches; wing from the flexure 2% inches. Bill 
black. Feet yellowish-brown. Above bluish-grey, spotted with 
black; the upper part of the head, (which is similarly spotted) 
cheeks, and the sides of the neck bright yellow; throat black, the 
rest of the lower parts white. Wings dusky, edged with greyish- 
white, with two bands of white. Tail dusky brown. 


TOWNSEND’S WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola Townsendi. S. Townsendi, Noss. Aup. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 36. 
pl. 393. f. 1.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Olive-green, spotted with black; head, cheeks, 
throat and breast, black ; flanks spotted with black ; line over the 


RATHBONE’S WARBLER. 4A7 


eye, a broad diverging one beneath to the shoulder and belly yel- 
low ; rump, two bands on the wings, and the inner webs of the 
three lateral tail-feathers on each side, almost wholly white. — 
Female ? 


Or this fine species we know very little, it being one 
of those transient visitors, which on their way to the north, 
merely stop afew days to feed and recruit, previous to 
their arrival in the higher latitudes, or afterwards disperse 
in pairs, and are lost sight of till the returning wants and 
famine of the season impel them again to migrate, when, 
falling on the same path, they are seen in small silent 
flocks advancing toward the retreat they seek out for their 
temporary abode. As this species frequents the upper parts 
of the lofty firs, it was almost an accident to obtain it at 
all. The female remains unknown. The specimen fig- 
ured by Audubon was shot by my friend Townsend on the 
28th of October, 1835, on the banks of the Columbia, 
and was in perfect plumage. 


Length nearly 5 inches. Wing from the flexure 23. Bill dusky. 
Tarsus and claws flesh-colored. Two Lateral tail feathers on each 
side white, excepting a dusky band occupying the terminal half of 
the outer web, and a small portion of the inner ; there is also a white 
spot near the end of the inner web of the next feather. 


RATHBONE’S WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola Rathbonia, Bonar. Sylvia Rathbonia, Av. pl. 65. Orn. Biog. 
1. p. 333.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Pale golden yellow; the back olive; wings and 
tail dark yellowish-brown edged with yellow; feet flesh-color. — 
The sexes nearly alike in plumage. 


Tuts elegant new species was discovered by Audubon 
in the alluvial forests of the Mississippi, where he met 


448 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


with a single pair actively employed in the capture of 
winged insects, as they sported amidst the glowing blos- 
soms of the splendid 'Trumpet-Flower, (Bignonia radi- 
cans.) The nest and habits of the species, probably a 
southern one, yet remain unknown. 


The Rathbone Warbler is about 43 inches in length; the bill from 
above, 4 lines long; tarsus 7 lines; the middle toe $ an inch. Gen- 
eral color bright yellow, the upper parts olivaceous. Quills and tail 
dusky-brown, the former yellow on the outer webs, the latter mar- 
gined externally with the same color. Bill yellowish-brown above, 
beneath yellow. Feet flesh-color. Irids hazel. The 2d quill long- 
est. 


PARTICOLORED WARBLER, or FINCH- 
CREEPER. 


(Sylvicola americana, Auv. Sylvia americana, Latu. AupvBon, pl. 15. 
Orn. Biog. i. p. 78. S. pusilla, Witson, iv. p. 17. pl. 28. fig. 3. Pa- 
rula americana, Bonar. Phil. Museum, No. 6910.) 

Spec. Cuaracr. — Dusky blue; interscapular region brownish yel- 
low olive ; throat and lower mandible yellow; belly white; wings 
with 2 white bars; lateral tail-feathers marked interiorly with 
white. — Male with a black crescent, and with the breast tinged 
with orange. — Female without the crescent and orange color on 
the breast. — Young, brownish-grey ; beneath muddy white. 


Tus remarkable species visits the Middle and Northern 
States about the Ist to the 15th of May, and is seen again 
early in October on its way to the West Indies (St. Do- 
mingo and Porto Rico), whither it retires at the approach 
of winter. A few, according to Catesby, pass the whole 
year in South Carolina. It is very abundant in the sum- 
mer in the woods of Kentucky; is active and restless on 
its first arrival, and frequents the summits of the highest 
trees, being particularly fond of the small caterpillars and 
flies of various kinds, which are, in the early part of 


BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. 449 


spring, attracted to the opening blossoms and tender 
shoots. It also possesses in some degree the creeping and 
prying habits of the Titmouse, to which genus it was re- 
ferred by Lineus and Pennant. Entering the southern 
extremity of the Union by the first approach of spring, it 
is now seen searching for its insect food on shrubs and 
plants in moist places, by the borders of lakes and streams. 
In this vicinity it is not common; but as it was singing as 
late as the 22d of May, in the woody solitudes of the Blue 
Hills of Milton, it must undoubtedly breed there. ‘The 
nest, according to Audubon, is placed in the fork of a 
small twig towards the extremity of the branches, and is 
formed of lichens and other materials, and lined with 
downy substances. The eggs, about 4, are white, with a 
few reddish dots at the larger end. The notes of this 
species resemble those of the Prairie Warbler in some 
respects, though sufficiently different; the tones rising 
from low to high are rather weak and insignificant. 


This bird is about 44 inches long, and 63 in alar extent. Above 
pale or dusky blue; the head brightest. Wings and tail black, the 
former crossed with 2 conspicuous white bars and edged with blue, 
Between the bill and eyes black ; above and below the eye a small 
touch of white. The upper mandible black ; the lower as well as the 
throat and breast bright yellow; the latter deepening about its middle 
into a brownish orange, and marked on the throat with a small cres- 
cent of blackish or dusky. On the edge of the breast, below the 
shoulder, is a cloud of bay. Belly and vent white. Legs and feet 
dull yellow. 


BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola canadensis, Swatxs. Sylvia canadensis, Latu. Wi11son, ii. 
p- 115. pl. 15. fig. 7. Aup. Orn. Biog. pl. 155. [male adult] and pl. 
148. (Sylvia sphagnosa.) [young] Orn, Biog. ii. p. 279. Phil. Muse- 
um, No. 7222.) 


3o* 


450 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Spec. CuHaract.— Slate blue; beneath white ; cheeks and throat 


black; a white spot on the wings; 2 or 3 lateral tail feathers with 
white on the inner web. 


Or this uncommon species we know very little. It ap- 
pears only as a transient visitor in the month of April, in 
the Middle States, and, after staying to feed for a week or 
ten days, it proceeds to its northern breeding-place in the 
wilds of Canada, of which we are wholly ignorant. In 
November, I have observed a few on their return to the 
South, and, according to Vieillot, they winter in St. Do- 
mingo, and other of the larger West India islands. 

Near Farranville on the Susquehannah, within the range 
of the Alleghany Mountains, in the month of May, I saw 
and heard several pairs of this rare species in the shady 
Hemlock trees. ‘The males were uttering their slender 
wiry and very peculiar notes, while busily engaged in for- 
aging for insects, and seemed by being paired to prepare 
for incubation. The nest according to Audubon (who ob- 
tained it from Professor McCulloch of Pictou, Nova 
Scotia), is usually placed on the horizontal branch of a 
fir-tree, 7 or 8 feet from the ground. It was composed of 
strips of bark, moss, and fibrous roots, and was lined with 
fine grass and a bed of feathers. The eggs, 4 or 5 in num- 
ber, are of a rosy tint, scantily sprinkled with reddish- 
brown dots at the larger end. 

The Pine Swamp Warbler (Sylvia sphagnosa) is now 
considered only as the young of this species, of which 
however, I think there yet remains some doubt. 


The length of this species is about 5 inches ; and 74 in alar dimen- 
sions. Above wholly of a fine slate color, inclining to azure ; the throat, 
cheeks, and upper part of the breast, and sides under the wings, are 
deep black; the wings and tail dusky black; the primaries marked 
with a spot of white, and edged with olive green. Tail wedge-shaped, 
edged with dusky blue, the feathers pointed; 2 and sometimes 3 of 


KENTUCKY WARBLER. A5l 


the external ones witha large white spot. Belly and vent white. 
Legs and feet dusky yellow. Bill black.— The black of the female 
inclined to dusky ash, or wanting.— The blue feathers of the hind 
part of the head and back, as well as the dark ones on the flanks, 
are edged with bright olive green; perhaps a mark of the young 
bird. 


KENTUCKY WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola formosa. Sylvia formosa, WiLson, ill. p. 85. pl. 25. fig. 3, 
AvDvUBON, pl. 38. Orn. Biog. i. p 196.) 


Spec, Cuaract.— Deep olive-green ; beneath and line over the eye 
golden yellow; crown black, spotted behind with pale ash; lores 
and space curving down the neck, black.— Female without the 
black under the eye, and nearly destitute of it on the crown, and 
with the sides under the wings pale green. 


Tuis beautiful species, first described by Wilson, fre- 
quents the dark forests of the southwestern parts of the 
Union, being particularly abundant in Louisiana, and 
not uncommon in Kentucky and Tennessee, and from 
thence inhabiting throughout the country to the estuaries 
of the Mississippi. It frequents low, damp woods, and 
the desolate borders of the lagoons, cane-brakes, and 
swamps, near the banks of the great rivers. It arrives 
in Kentucky about the middle of April, but enters the 
southern extremity of the Union from Mexico by the 
same time in March, and by the middle of September 
retires south of the United States. The males are very 
pugnacious in the pairing season of spring, and utter 
some loud notes, in threes, resembling the sound of 
’tweedle tweedle, tweedle. ‘They attach the nest often to 
stems of stout weeds, or place it in a tuft of grass. It 
is made of the dry bark of herbaceous plants, mixed with 
downy substances, and lined with the cotton of the seed 


452 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


of the wild poplar. The eggs, 4 to 6, are pure white, 
and sprinkled with specks of reddish. The female begins 
to sit early in May, and they have usually two broods in 
the season. ‘They now associate in families, and live in 
the greatest harmony. ‘The species is scarcely known 
to the east of North Carolina. 


This Warbler is 53 inches long, and 8 in alar extent. Above deep 
green, tinged with olive, darkest onthe upper part of the back. Tail 
nearly even, rich olive-green. Legs whitish flesh-color. Upper 
mandible blackish, the lower flesh-color. 


CaskRULEAN WARBLER. 


(Sylvicola cerulea, Swatns. Sylvia cerulea, W1LsoN, ii. p. 141. pl. 17. 
fig. 5. [male] and Bonar. Am. Orn. ii. p. 27. pl. 11. fig. 2 [female.] 
S. azurea, StepHens. Aupuson. pl. 48. Orn. Biog. 1. p. 255. [adult] 
and pl. 49. S. rara. Is. 1. p. 258. [young]. Phil. Museum, No. 
7309.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Verditer blue; beneath and line over the eye 
white ; wings with 2 white bars, and with the tail black: tail- 
feathers with a spot. 


Tuts very delicately colored species is among the 
rarest summer residence of the Atlantic states, and does 
not probably migrate or rather stray farther north than 
the state of New York. In the southwestern states, 
particularly Tennessee and West Florida, it is one of 
the most abundant species; it is also found in the West- 
ern wilderness beyond the Mississippi. It is only in the 
summer that it ever ventures into the Middle States, from 
which it retires almost before the first chills of autumn, 
or by the middle of August. It frequents the borders of 
streams and marshes, and possesses many of the habits of 
the Flycatchers, warbling also at times in a lively manner, 


GROUND WARBLERS. 453 


and though its seng be short it is at the same time sweet 
and mellow. 

The nest, according to Audubon, is placed in the forks 
of alow tree or bush, more frequently on a Dog-wood 
tree. It is partly pensile. It is composed externally of 
strips of pine bark and the stalks of rank, herbaceous 
plants with slender roots arranged in a circular manner, 
the lining consists wholly of the dry fibres of Spanish 
moss. The eggs, 4 or 5 white, with a few reddish-brown 
spots at the great end. The Sylvia rara first met with 
on Cumberland river, by Wilson, is now believed to be 
only the young of the present species. 


Length 44 inches ; alar extent 73. Above verditer blue (in Audu- 
bon azure) with a few streaks of black on the upper part of the back. 
Wings and tail black, edged with pale blue. Tail forked, a white 
spot in the 5 lateral feathers on each side; the 2 middle mere slightly 
marked with the same. From the eye backwards a line of dusky 
blue. Bill dusky above. light blue below. Legs and feet light blue. 
— Female, with the sides of the breast spotted or streaked with dusky 
bluish. 


TRICHAS. (Swarns.) GROUND WARBLERS. 


Brix as in Sylvicola, only somewhat slender and a little 
decurved. 3d and 4th quills usually longest. Wings rather 
short, rounded. ‘T'ail rounded and without spots. 


The species, (generally of humble flight, frequenting low bushes, 
and thickets and nesting low, or on the ground,) though few, are found 
in the Middle and Northern States and even across the continent, in 
Oregon, to the shores of the Pacific. 


MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. 


(Trichas marylandica, Bonar. Sylvia trichas, Latu. Avpvusoy, pl. 23. 
Orn. Biog. i. p. 121. [adult] S. marylandica, Witson, i. p. 88. pl. 6. 
fig. 1. [male.] and ii. p. 163. pl. 18. fig. 4. [female.] Phil. Museum, 
No. 7282.) 


Spec. Cnaract.— Yellow-olive; beneath yellow; front and wide 
patch through the eye black, bounded above by whitish-grey ; 
tail cuneiform. — Female without black on the face, and beneath 

~ dull yellow. 


Tus common and familiar species extends its summer 
migrations from Florida to Nova Scotia, arriving in Penn- 
slyvania towards the middle of April, and in this part of 
New England about the first week in May. They return 
to the south in September; a few stragglers of the young, 
however, may be seen to the first week in October, and 
though some may remain and winter in the Southern 
States, it is more probable that the main body retire at 
this season into the interior of tropical America; as they 
were seen late in autumn, around Vera Cruz, by the nat- 
uralist and traveller Mr. Bullock. Early in the month 


MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. 455 


of March, however, I heard this species singing in the 
forests of West Florida. ‘They also exist in the territory 
of Oregon, where Mr. Townsend, obtained specimens. We 
met with them on Lewis’s River, of the Shoshonee in 
the centre of the Rocky Mountain chain. 

The Maryland Yellow-Throat, with cheerful devoted- 
ness to the great object of his summer migration, the 
attachments and cares of his species, passes his time 
near some shady rill of water, amidst briars, brambles, 
alders, and such other shrubbery as grow in low and wa- 
tery situations. Unambitious to be seen, he seldom as- 
cends above the tops of the underwood, where he dwells 
busily employed in collecting the insects on which he 
feeds. After these, like the Wren, he darts into the 
deepest thicket, and threads his devious way through 
every opening; he searches around the stems, examines 
beneath the leaves, and raising himself on his peculiarly 
pale and slender legs, peeps into each crevice in order 
to seize by surprise his tiny lurking prey. While thus 
engaged, his affection to his neighboring mate is not 
forgotten, and with a simplicity, agreeable and charac- 
teristic, he twitters forth, at short intervals, his ’whititetee 
'whititetee ’whititetee, but his more common song is 
’whittitshee ’whittitshee, or ‘wetitshee wetitshee weé; and 
sometimes I have heard his note like, ’wetitshee wetitshee, 
*wit’'yu we. On this last syllable a plaintive sinking of the 
voice renders the lively, earnest ditty of the active minstrel 
peculiarly agreeable. Copying apparently from the Cardi- 
nal Bird, the song was, in one instance, which came to my 
notice, ’viliyu ’vitiyu vitiyu. The whole is likewise often 
varied and lowered into a slender whisper, or tender reve- 
rie of vocal instinct. Sometimes he calls out, teetshoo, teet- 
shoo, and sewaidedit sewaidédit sewaiditsewee, or sewaidi- 
dit sewaiditsiwee, as he busily darts through the bloom- 


455 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


ing and odor-breathing shrubs of the grove or garden, 
which he examines with minute attention, and sometimes 
springs, perpendicularly after his retreating and discovered 
prey. He appears by no means shy or suspicious, as 
long as his nest is unapproached; but for the safety of 
that precious treasure, he scolds, laments, and entreats with 
great anxiety. The species generally nest in the recluse 
thickets of the forest, or the low bushy meadow, but some- 
times they take up their abode in the garden, or the field 
contiguous to the house; and, if undisturbed, show a pre- 
dilection for the place which has afforded security to them- 
selves and their young. They commence their labor of 
building about the middle of May, fixing the nest on or 
near the ground, among dry leaves, withered grass, or 
brush, and choose often for security the most intricate 
thicket of briars, so that the nest is often sheltered and 
concealed by projecting weeds and grass. Sometimes a 
mere tussuck of grass or accidental pile of brush is chosen. 
It is made of dry sedge-grass (Carex), and a few leaves 
loosely wound together and supported by the weeds or 
twigs where it rests; the lining consists entirely of fine 
bent-grass (Agrostis). 

The eggs, about 5, are white, inclined to flesh-color, 
with touches, specks, and small spreading blotches, and 
sometimes with a few lines of two or three shades of red- 
dish brown, chiefly disposed towards the greater end. I 
have also seen the eggs a whole size smaller, pure white, 
with a few small spots only at the greater end. This is 
perhaps the egg of a different, but allied species. The 
young leave the nest, here, about the middle of June, and 
a second brood is sometimes raised in the course of the 
season. ‘'he parents and young now rove about in restless 
prying troops, and take to the most secluded bushy marshes, 
where they pass their time, in comparative security, till the 


ROSCOE’S YELLOW-THROAT. 457 


arrival of that period of scarcity which warns them to de- 
part. As early as the close of July, the lively song of the 
male ceases to be heard, and the whole party now forage 
in silence: 

This species is about 4% inches in length, and 64 in alar dimen- 
sions. Above yellow-olive, inclining to cinereous on the crown. 
Throat, breast, and vent yellow, fainter on the belly. Wings, and 
unspotted, wedge-shaped tail, dusky brown; the quills of both edged 
with yellow olive, Ist primary edged with whitish. Bull black above, 
paler beneath. Legs pale flesh-color and remarkably delicate. Iris 
dark hazel. Sometimes male birds occur with the pale grey line over 
the eye exalted into white, as in Buffon’s figure.— The young, at 
first, resemble the female, but the male of the season, before his de- 
parture in autumn, exhibits the brilliant yellow throat, as well as 
some appearance of the grey and black, which ornament the sides of 
the face in the adult. 


ROSCOE’S YELLOW-THROAT. 


(Trichas Roscoe, Noxris. Sylvia Roscoe, Avp. Orn. Biog. 1. p, 124. 
pl. 24. and vol. 5. p. 463, as the young of S. trichas.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Very dark olive; below yellow ; a white streak 
near and over the eye; abroad black patch from the corner of the 
eye passing over the ears; tarsus short. 


Tus species was first discovered by Mr. Audubon in the 
State of Mississippi and not far from the river of the same 
name. It was pursuing its prey of winged insects in the 
upper branches of a tall Cypress, and uttered at short in- 
tervals a single ¢witt. It has a strong general resemblance 
to the Maryland Yellow-Throat, (Sylvia Trichas), but is 
sufficiently distinct. It is occasionally seen in the New 
England States, and particularly in this vicinity, (Cam- 
bridge,) in the same dark or low bushy thickets and swamps 
with the Common Yellow-Throat, and probably breeds in 
this quarter, though it is most commonly seen towards the 

39 


458 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


close of summer only. Its note, which I have heard, re- 
sembles in a measure that of its prototype Trichas, but it 
is much more varied and agreeably warbling. Its autum- 
nal ¢witt also is louder, deeper, and easily distinguishable 
from that closely allied species. 


The length of Roscoe’s Yellow-Throat is about 5} inches; 
extent of the wings 64 inches; the bill above fiye twelfths of an 
nch; tarsus one third of aninch. Very dark olive, the margins of 
the feathers lighter; rump paler. Inner webs of the quills dark 
brown. Bill dark flesh-color, brown at the tip. Feet flesh-color. 
Irids pale brown. 


MASKED YELLOW-THROAT. 


(Trichas velata, Nozis. Trichas Delafieldiit, Avp. Synops. p. 55.- Syl- 
via Delafieldiz, Orn. Biog. 5. p. 307. S. velata, Viet. Hist. des 
oiseaux, L. Amer. Sept. 2. p. 22. pl. 74.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Olive-grey ; crown of the head bluish-grey ; front 
and patch through the eye to the ears, black ; no white on the front ; 
tail much rounded, cuneiform. — Female. 


Or this species, so nearly allied to the Maryland Yellow- 
Throat, nothing further is known than of its existence in 
the Oregon Territory, near Fort Vancouver, where the 
only specimen described by Audubon was obtained by Mr. 
Townsend. This species, distinguished from the Maryland 
Yellow-Throat, by Vieillot, was obtained in some part of 
the United States, and is said to have a different song, and 
is also larger. 


Length 54. Billa little over half an inch long (in the Maryland 
Yellow-Throat only five twelfths of an inch.) Tail much rounded. 
The 1st quill much shorter than the 2d (nearly half an inch.) The 
black fronted band narrow. The rest nearly as in the common 
species. 


MOURNING GROUND WARBLER. 459 


MOURNING GROUND WARBLER. 


{Trichas philadelphia, Bonar. Sylvia philadelphia, Wixson, ii. p. 101. 
pl. 14. fig. 6. [female ?] 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark greenish-olive ; head dark grey ; a crescent 
of alternate white and black lines on the breast ; belly yellow; tail 
cuneiform. 


Wiuson, the discoverer of this curious species, never 
met with more than a single individual, which, in its habits 
of frequenting marshy ground, and flitting through low 
bushes in quest of insects, appears very similar to the 
Maryland Yellow-Throat. The discoverer, however, also 
distinguished it more importantly by the novelty of its 
sprightly and pleasant warble; we may therefore perhaps 
consider it as a solitary straggler from the main body in 
the western regions of this vast continent. It was shot in 
the early part of June near Philadelphia. 

On the 20th of May (1831) I saw, as I believe, the male 
of this species in the dark shrubbery of the Botanic Gar- 
den (Cambridge.) It possessed all the manners of the 
common species, was equally busy in search of insects 
in the low bushes, and at little intervals, warbled out 
some very pleasant notes, which though they resembled 
the lively chant of the Maryland Yellow-Throat, even to 
the wetitshee, yet they were more agreeably varied, so as 
to approach in some degree, the song of the Summer 
Yellow-bird (Sylvia @stiva). This remarkable note, in- 
deed, set me in quest of the bird, which I followed for 
some time, but, at last, perceiving himself watched, he left 
the garden. As far as I was able to observe this individ- 
ual, he was above of a dark olive-green, very cinereous on 
the fore part of the head, with a band of black through 
the eyes, which descended from the side of the neck 


460 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


where at length it joined with a crescent of dusky or black 
spots upon the breast; the throat was yellow and the under 
parts paler. 

Mr. Townsend saw a specimen on the shady borders of 
the Schuylkill, in the month of may last; and a 2d individ- 
ual has been obtained by Mr. De Rham in the vicinity of 
New York. ‘Two or three other specimens have also been 
obtained in the vicinity of Philadelphia and in New Jer- 
sey. It is however, still a very rare species and its proper 
habitation is yet to be discovered. 


This species is 5 inches long, and 7 in alar extent. Above deep 
greenish olive; tips of the wings and centre of the tail-feathers 
brownish. Head dark, almost sooty-grey. Crescent of the breast 
formed of alternate transverse lines of pure white, and deep black; 
below yellow. Legs and feet (as in the Maryland Yellow-Throat) 
pale flesh-color. Bill dusky above, lighter below. Iris hazel. 


TOLMIE’S GROUND WARBLER. 


(Trichas Tolmai, Noxzis. Sylvia Tolmei, TownsEnp, Journ. Acad. 
vol. 8. Narrative, Append. p. 343. Trichas Macgillivrayi, Aub. Orn. 
Biog. 5. p. 75. pl. 399. f. 4, 5.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Vellow-olive; head and breast dark grey, the 
latter sprinkled with white; lores black; below yellow; tail cunei- 
form, nearly even; a line of white above and below the eye. 


Tuts species is one of the most common summer resi- 
dents of the woods and plains of the Columbia, appearing 
early in May, and remaining until the approach of winter. 
After the manner of the Maryland Yellow-Throat, it keeps 
near the ground in low bushes, where it gleans its subsist- 
ence. When surprised or closely observed, it is shy and 
jealous, immediately sculking off, and sometimes uttering 
aloud snapping click. Its note has occasionally the hur- 


TOLMIE’S GROUND WARBLER. 461 


° 


ried rattling sound of Turdus aurocapillus, resembling 
t’tsh Vtsh Utsh tsheetee, altering into tsh tsh tsh teet shee. 
Another male, on the skirts of a thicket, called out at 
short intervals vish vishtyu, changing to vit vit vit vityu 
and vit vit vityu, sometimes, when approached, dropping 
his voice and abbreviating his song. Another had a call 
of visht visht, visht e visht t’shew and visht visht vishteshew 
or vititshee. Onthe 12th of June, a nest of this species 
was brought to me, containing two young birds nearly 
quite fledged, in the garb of the mother, pale yellow be- 
neath, and brightish yellow-olive above. The nest was 
chiefly made of strips of the inner scaly bark of probably 
the White Cedar, (Thuya occidentalis) lined with slender 
wiry stalks of dry weeds, and concealed near the ground 
in the dead mossy limits of a fallen oak, and further partly 
hidden by a long tuft of moss (Usnea). It was less artifi- 
cial than the nest of the Yellow-Throat, but of the same 
general appearance, and concealed in a similar situation, 
probably in a thicket near the ground. On returning the 
nest to the place it had been taken from, I had almost im- 
mediately the satisfaction of seeing the anxious. parents 
come to feed their charge, and for some days they showed 
great uneasiness on being approached. 

Mr. Townsend adds. It is mostly solitary and extremely 
wary, keeping chiefly in the most impenetrable thickets, 
and gliding through them in a cautious and suspicious 
manner. It may, however, sometimes be seen towards 
mid-day perched upon a dead twig over its favorite places 
of concealment, and at such times warbles a very sprightly 
and pleasant little song, raising its head until its bill is 
almost vertical, swelling its throat in the manner of its 
relatives. This species is very nearly allied to the Trichas 
philadelphia, differing principally by the black lores and 
the white palpebra. 

39* 


462 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


a 
Length 5 inches; extent of wings 64. Bill dusky above, pale 
flesh-color below, 5-12ths of an. inch long. Iris hazel. Legs flesh- 
colored. Upper part of the head, the hind part and sides of the 
neck deep ash-grey, inclining to black on the head. Above yellow- 
olive inclining to green. Wings greyish-brown edged with olive- 
yellow, Ist quill edged with white. Lores deep velvet black ; on 
each eye-lid a distinct line of pure white above and below, with the 
rest of the lid black, the grey feathers of the throat and breast, many 
of them irregularly margined with white ; below bright yellow as well 
as the shoulder of the wing; sides in part yellowish-green ; under 
side of the tail tinged also with yellow. — Female, head and sides of 
the neck lighter grey, the lores of the same color, with the centre of 
the throat whitish. 


MICHENER’S GROUND WARBLER. 


(Trichas tephrocotis, Noxzts. Sylvia agilis, Aup. in part, pl. 188. Mu- 
seum Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Yellow-olive, beneath yellow; head ash-color; 
2d and 3d primaries longest; throat greyish-white, tinged with 
yellow, a white line round the eye; tail wedge-shaped and feathers 
pointed. — Female ? 


Tue only specimen of this species as yet known was 
shot in the month of May, at New Garden, Chester coun- 
ty, by Doctor Michener, who remarks that its habits were 
exactly those ascribed by Wilson to the Trichas agilis, to 
which it is very nearly allied, though apparently distinct. 
It is nearly an inch shorter, that species being scarcely 5 
inches in place of 52, the bill is also shorter and more 
slender, the head grey and the tail-feathers acuminated. 


Bill 2 of an inch, the upper mandible pale brown, the lower pale 
fiesh-color. 1st quill nearly as long as the 2d and 3d which are long- 
est, its outer web edged with white. Head and cheeks grey, almost 
plumbeous. Above yellowish-olive, inclining to green. Quills dusky 
brown. Below bright yellow, inclining to olive on the sides. 


WORM-EATING WARBLERS. 4163 


CONNECTICUT GROUND WARBLER. 


(Trichas agilis, Nozis. Sylvia agilis, Witson. v. p. 64. pl. 39. fig. 4. 
Avp. pl. 138. Orn. Biog. 11. p. 227.) 


Spec, Cuaract.— Bright yellow-olive, inclining to green; beneath 
yellow; throat pale ash ; wings dusky. —- Female with the throat 
pale buff. 


Tuts rare species discovered by Wilson in Connecticut, 
and afterwards in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, ap- 
pears to frequent low thickets, and is exceedingly active in 
pursuit of its prey, scarcely remaining a moment in the 
same place. Wilson afterwards shot two specimens of a 
bird which in every particular agreed with the above, ex- 
cept in having the throat dull buff color instead of pale 
ash. ‘These were both females, as he supposed, of the 


present species. 

Length 53 inches; alar extent 8. Above rich yellow-olive, nearly 
green ; wings dusky-brown, edged with olive. Throat dirty-white or 
pale ash ; upper part of the breast dull greenish-yellow ; below pure 
yellow. Round the eye a narrow ring of yellowish-white. Bill, 
upper mandible pale brown; the lower whitish. Iris hazel. Legs 
long and slender, pale flesh-color. 


VERMIVORA. (Swains.) WORM-EATING 
WARBLERS. 


Bit about the length of the head, straight, or slightly 
decurved, tapering to a very acute point, much com- 
pressed ; scarcely notched. Bristles at the base of the 
bill obsolete. Wings rather long, somewhat pointed, the 
outer 3 quills nearly equal, 2d longest. Tail nearly even. 


464 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


These have much the habit of the Sylvicolas from which they 
scarcely differ enough as a genus; they are also a divided group as 
now arranged. They generally affect dark and shady woods, inhabit 
both sides of the North American continent, and are nearly all rare. 


PENNSYLVANIAN VERMIVORA. 


(Vermivora pennsylvanica, Swains. Sylvia vermivora, Latu. Wit- 
SON, lil. p. 74. pl. 24. fig. 4. Dacnis vermivora, AupuBon, pl. 34. 
Phil. Museum, No. 6848.) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Dusky-olive; head striped with black and buff; 
beneath dull buff, brighter on the breast ; bill stout. 


Tuts species arrives in Pennsylvania about the middle 
of May, and migrates to the South towards the close o 
September ; they were seen feeding their young, in that 
state, about the 25th of June, by Wilson, so that some 
pairs stay and breed there. They are very active and inde- 
fatigable insect-hunters, and have much of the manners 
and even the note of the Marsh Titmouse or Chicadee. 
About the 4th of October, I have seen a pair of these 
birds roving through the branches of trees with restless 
agility, hanging on the twigs and examining the trunks, 
in quest, probably, of spiders and other lurking and dor- 
mant insects and their larve. One of them likewise kept 
up a constant complaining call, like the sound of tshe 
de de. 

According to Richardson, this species visits the fur coun- 
tries, where a single specimen was procured at Cumberland 
House, on the banks of the Saskatchewan. It is found also 
in Maine and the British Provinces of New Brunswick and 
Nova Scotia. Dr. Bachman says that it breeds sparingly 
in the swamps of Carolina, as he observed a pair followed 
by three or four young ones nearly fledged, all of which 


SWAINSON’S VERMIVORA. 465 


already exhibited the markings on the head. They lay 4 or 
5 cream colored. eggs, with a few dark red spots near the 
larger end.* 


Length 54 inches, and 8 inches in alar extent. Above dark olive, 
éxcept the quills and tail, which are umber-brown. Tail scarcely 
forked. Head buff, marked with 4 longitudinal stripes of umber- 
brown. Breast orange-buff, mixed with dusky. Vent waved with 
dusky olive. Bill blackish above, below flesh-colored. Legs pale 
flesh-color. Iris hazel. — Female nearly similar to the male. 


SWAINSON’S VERMIVORA. 


(Vermivora Swainsont, Bonar. Sylvia Swainson, Avp. Orn. Biog. 11, 
p- 563. pl. 198. and y. p. 462. Helinaia Swainsoni, Synops. p. 66.) 


Sprc. Cuaract. —Olive-brown ; the head tinged with red; lower 
parts and a band over the eye yellowish-grey : bill as long as the 
head. 


Docror Bacuman, the discoverer of this species near 
the banks of the Edisto river, remarks; ‘‘I was first at- 
tracted by the novelty of its notes, four or five in number, 
repeated at intervals of five or six minutes apart. These 
notes were loud, clear, and more like a whistle than a song. 
They resembled the sound of some extraordinary ventril- 
Oquist in such a degree, that I supposed the bird much 
farther off than it really was; for after some trouble caused 
by these fictitious notes, I observed it near to me, and soon 
shot it.” They appear to have a predilection for swampy, 
muddy places, usually more or less covered with water. 
They feed on coleopterous insects and the larve which 


* Aup. Orn. Biog. i. p. 177. 


466 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


infest the pond lily. It keeps usually in low bushes; and 
retires southward at the close of summer. They breed, it 
appears, in South Carolina. According to Dr. Brewer, a 
specimen was shot in Massachusetts by Mr. Samuel Cabot. 


Length 54 inches, extent of wings 84; bill along the ridge seven 
twelfths of aninch. Bill light brown. Irisbrown. Feet flesh-colored. 
Above rich brown, tinged with red on the head ; beneath pale brown- 
ish-grey, the sides darker. Sides of the head brownish-white, the 
feathers tipped with brown; a whitish line over the eye. Wings 
longish ; the first 3 quills almost equal, the 1st being very slightly 
shorter. Secondaries narrow and rounded. - 


PROTHONOTARY VERMIVORA. 


(Vermivora protonotarius, Bonar. Sylvia protonotarius, Lata. Wi1- 
SON, ll. p. 72. pl. 24. fig. 3. S. protonotarius, AupuBON, pl. 3. 
Phil. Museum, No. 7020.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Yellow ; back and small wing-coverts yellow- 
olive; wings black; rump and tail-coverts greyish-blue ; all the 
tail-feathers, except the 2 middle ones, with a spot of white on 
their inner vanes ; tail nearly even; bill rather short. 


Turis beautiful species inhabits the Southern States 
commonly in summer, being plentiful in the low, dark, 
and swampy forests of the Mississippi near New Orleans, 
as well as in Louisiana and the wilds of Florida. In these 
solitary retreats they are seen nimbly flitting in search of 
insects, caterpillars, larvee, and small land shells, every now 
and then uttering a few creaking notes, scarcely deserving 
the name of song. They sometimes, though very rarely, 
proceed as far north as Pennsylvania. They appear to 
affect watery places in swamps which abound with lagoons, 
and is seldom seen in the woods. According to Dr. Bach- 
man, it breeds in South Carolina, as he saw a pair and their 
young near Charleston, 


SOLITARY VERMIVORA. A467 


The usual length of this species is 54 inches; alar stretch 84. 
Inner yanes of the quills and tail black, edged with pale blue. Vent 
white. Bill black, rather long and robust. Legs and feet leaden- 
gtey. Iris hazel.—In the female the yellow and blue are rather 
duller. 


SOLITARY VERMIVORA. 


(Vermivora solitaria, Swarns. Sylvia solitaria, WILSON, il. p. 109. 
pl. 15. fig. 4. S. solitaria, AupugBoyn, pl. 20. Phil. Museum, 
No. 7307.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Olive-green ; forehead and all beneath yellow ; 
lores black ; wings with 2 whitish bands, and with the tail greyish- 
blue; the 3 lateral tail-feathers with their inner vanes almost 
wholly white. 


Axsout the beginning of May this species enters Penn- 
sylvania from the South, and frequents thickets and 
shrubberies in quest of the usual insect food of its tribe. 
At the approach of winter, very different from the Pine 
Warbler, with which it has sometimes been confounded, it 
retires to pass the winter in tropical America, having been 
seen around Vera Cruz in autumn by Mr. Bullock. On 
its arrival it frequents gardens, orchards, and willow trees, 
gleaning among the blossoms, but at length withdraws into 
the silent woods, remote from the haunts of men, to pass 
the period of breeding and rearing its young in more secu- 
rity. The nest, according to Wilson, is placed in a thick 
tuft or tussuck of long grass, occasionally sheltered and 
concealed by a briar. It is usually built in the form of an 
inverted funnel, the bottom thickly bedded with dry leaves ; 
the sides are framed of the dry bark of stout plants, and 
the interior lined with slender dry grass. ‘The materials, 
instead of the usual circular arrangement, are inclined, or 
shelve downwards on all sides from the top to the bottom, 


468 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


which is narrowed, The eggs, 5, are pure white, with a few 
pale spots of reddish near the greater end; the young are 
hatched by the first week in June. 


Length 54 inches; alar extent 74. Vent white. Wings and tail 
deep brown, edged with pale blue. Bill black above, lighter below. ° 
Legs pale bluish, Feet dirty yellow.— The female scarcely differs 
from the male. ; 


GOLDEN-WINGED VERMIVORA. 


(Vermivora chrysoptera, Swans. Sylvia chrysoptera, Larn. W11son, 
ii. p. 113. pl. 15. fig. 6. [male]. Bonar. Am. Orn. 1. -p. 12. pl. 1. 
fig. 3. [female]. Avp. pl. 414. Orn. Biog. 5. p.154. Phil. Muse- 
um. No. 7010.) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Dark bluish-grey ; crown and wing-coverts golden 
yellow ; beneath white; throat and band through the eye black. — 
Female olive ; front and wing-coverts yellow; breast and over the 
eye, dusky. 


Tus scarce species appears only a few days in Pennsyl- 
vania about the last.of April or beginning of May. It darts 
actively through the leafy branches, and like the Titmouse 
examines the stems for insects, and often walks with the 
head downwards; its notes and actions are also a good deal 
similar, in common with the Worm-eating Warbler. Ihave 
never yet seen it in Massachusetts, and if it really does pro- 
ceed north to breed, it must follow a western route. 


The length of this species is from 44 to 5 inches, and 7 in alar ex- 
tent. The 3 lateral tail-feathers with a spot of white on their inner 
vanes. Tail a little forked. The black band through the eye sepa- 
rated from the yellow crown by a line of white. Bill black. Legs 
dark ash. Iris hazel. 


TENNESSEE VERMIVORA, OR WARBLER. 469 


BACHMAN’S WORM-EATING WARBLER. 


(Vermivora Bachmani, Boyar. Sylvia Bachmani, Aub. Orn. Biog. 
ii. p. 483. pl. 185.) 

Spec. Cuaract.— Brownish-olive; middle of the crown brownish- 
black ; forehead, line over the eye, cheeks, chin, sides of the neck, 
and the breast, yellow; onthe fore part of the neck a large patch of 
black ; tail feathers, excepting the two middle ones, with a white 
spot on the inner web. 


Tuis species was first obtained a few miles from Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, in July, by Dr. Bachman, after whom 
itisnmamed. It appears to be a lively, active species, fre- 
quenting thick bushes, through which it glides after insects, 
or occasionally mounting on wing, it seizes them in the air. 
Several individuals were seen in the same neighborhood. 


Length about 4 inches ; alar extent about 64. Bill about 4 an inch, 
dusky brown above, light blue beneath. Feet umber. Rump yellow- 
ish-green ; flexure of the wing and lower wing-coverts yellow; sides 
greenish-grey, the lower tail-coverts white. Quills and tail wood 
brown, narrowly margined with whitish. — Female smaller, with the 
tints fainter, the forehead yellowish-green, and the fore-neck dusky. 
Length 3 10-12ths of an inch. 


TENNESSEE VERMIVORA, or WARBLER. 


(Vermivora peregrina, Bonar. Sylvia peregrina, WiLson, ill. p. 83. 
pl. 25. fig. 2. Avp. pl. 154. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 307. S. bicolor ? 
Vieitt, Phil. Museum. No. 7787.) 

Spec. Cuaractr.—Yellow-olive, bluish on the head; line over the 


eye pale yellow ; beneath whitish ; wings without bands; bill very 
short. 


Tuts rare and plain species was discovered by Wilson on 
the banks of Cumberland river, in the state of ‘Tennessee. 


AO 


470 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, 


It was hunting with great agility among the opening leaves 
in spring, and like the rest of the section to which it apper- 
tains, possesses a good deal of the habits of the Titmouse. 
Its notes were few and weak, and its food, as usual, smooth 
caterpillars and winged insects. It is still so rare that Au- 
dubon never saw more than three individuals, two in Louis- 
iana and one at Key West in East Florida; all of which 
were also males. 


This species is 3% inches long; and 8 in alar extent. Wings 
dusky, edged with olive. Tail forked, olive, relieved with dusky. 
Throat and breast pale cream-color; belly and vent white. Legs 
purplish-brown. Bill short, dark dusky, somewhat paler below. Iris 
hazel. — In the female the colors are more obscure. 


DUSKY VERMIVORA, or WARBLER. 


(Vermivora carbonata, Bonar. Sylvia carbonata, Aun. pl. 60. Orn. 
Biog. 1. p. 308.) 

Spec. Coaract.— Crown and front black; above dark olive-green, 
spotted with black; throat, sides of the neck, and line over the 
eye, yellow ; below yellowish olive and darkly spotted ; two light 
bands on the wings, 


Tuis new species was obtained by Audubon near the 
village of Henderson, in Kentucky. The only two individ- 
uals met with were males, not yet arrived at perfect plu- 
mage. ‘Their actions and food appeared very similar with 
those of other Warblers. 


Rump yellowish ; tail emarginate, dusky. A white band on the 
wing, formed by the margins of the upper coverts, also a yellowish 
one below. Bill 5-12ths of an inch, dusky. Legs flesh-colored. Iris 
hazel. Length 4§ inches. 


GREY VERMIVORA. A71 


BLACK-THROATED GREY VERMIVORA. 


'(Vermivora nigrescens, Bonar. Sylvia nigrescens, Towns. Journal 
Acad. 7. p.191. Avup. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 57. pl. 395.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Leaden gray, spotted with black ; head, broad line 
through the eyes, and throat black ; line over the eye a broad one 
from the bill; belly, and two bands on the wings white; a great 
part of the three lateral tail-feathers on their inner webs also white ; 
a yellow spot on the lores. 


TuIs curious species, so much resembling Sylvia striata, 
was seen to arrive early in May; and from its song, more 
readily delivered at intervals in the tops of deciduous-leaved 
trees, we have little doubt but that they breed in the forests 
of the Columbia. On the 23d of May, I had the satisfac- 
tion of hearkening to the delicate, but monotonous song of 
this bird, as he busily and intently searched every leafy 
bough and expanding bud for larve and insects in a spread- 
ing oak, from whence he delivered his solitary note. Some- 
times he remained a minute or two stationary, but more 
generally continued in quest of prey. His song, at short. 
and regular intervals, seemed like t’shee ’tshay ’tshaitshee, 
varying the feeble sound very little, and with the conclud- 
ing note somewhat slenderly and plaintively raised. 

My friend Townsend remarks, that it is abundant inthe 
forests of the Columbia, where it breeds, and remains until 
winter ; and that the nest is formed externally of fibrous 
green moss ( Usnea?), and is generally placed on the upper 
branches of the oak, suspended between two small twigs. 


Length 5 inches; bill on the ridge 5-12ths of an inch; wing from 
the flexure 2} inches. Bill and feet black. Iris brown. Below 
white, the sides marked with narrow black streaks ; upper part of the 
head, nape, loral space, cheeks, and the fore part of the neck with a 
small portion of the breast, black ; a band from near the nostrils to near 
the eye, yellow ; a band of white over the eye, and another from the 


472 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


lower mandible along the side of the neck, white. Wings and tail 
blackish-brown, edged with bluish-grey ; outer margin of the first 
quill white, as are those of the outer two feathers of the tail, with the 
greater part of the inner web of the outer three. 

On the 29th of May, on the south side of the estuary of the Wahla- 
met, I heard a Warbler often in the tall pines, and now saw it for the 
first time. Its note was slender and monotonous, but quite peculiar. 
It seemed almost like the following syllables, ’t’dee ’tdee te déliwm, 
the final note slenderly terminated. For hours this hermit of the forest 
remained in the same trees, either perched or rambling through the 
branches after insects.— Below it appeared greyish-white, with the 
throat and cheeks black, with a white band through the eyes; above 
chiefly dull dark grey. Though nearly allied to the above species, it 
still seems distinct; and was not obtained by us. It might be called 
Sylvicola *tristis, from its melancholy warble. 


NASHVILLE VERMIVORA, or WARBLER. 


(Vermivora rubricapilla, Swatns. Sylvia rubricapilla, WiLson, iii. p. 
120. pl. 27. fig. 3. Aun. pl. 89. Orn. Biog. i. p. 450. Phil. Mu- 
seum, No. 7789.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Yellow-olive; head and neck ash, inclining to 
olive ; crown deep chesnut; beneath greenish yellow; centre of 
the belly nearly white ; wings without bands. 


Tis rare species was discovered by Wilson in the vi- 
cinity of Nashville in ‘Tennessee; it also exists in the 
neighboring states in summer, and occasionally proceeds 
as far north as Philadelphia, and even the neighborhood of 
Salem in this state. Its discoverer was first attracted to it 
by the singular noise which it made, resembling the break- 
ing of small dry twigs, or the striking together of pebbles, 
for six or seven times in succession, and loud enough to 
be heard at the distance of thirty or forty yards. A sim- 
ilar sound, produced, no doubt, by the smart snapping of 
the bill, is given by the Stone-chat of Europe, which 


ORANGE-CROWNED VERMIVORA. 473 
hence in fact derives Hs name. Audubon says, the male, 
while standing in a still and erect posture, utters a few 
low, eagerly repeated, creaking notes. ‘This species has 
all the active habits of the family to which it more partic- 
ularly belongs. 

Audubon says that this species is not in fact rare, as he 
saw them in considerable numbers in the month of April, 
towards Texas, on their way eastward; he also saw it in 
Maine and the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova 
Scotia. A few proceed to Labrador, and Dr. Richardson 
mentions the occurrence of a straggler in the Fur Coun- 
tries. 


Its length was 43 inches; alar extent 7. Wings dusky, edged 
with olive; the primaries with yellow. Tail slightly forked, dark 
olive. Legs and feet yellow. Bill dusky ash. Iris hazel, — Female, 
beneath paler, mixed with grey, and without the chesnut patch on 
the head. 


ORANGE-CROWNED VERMIVORA. 


(Vermivora celata, Jarp. Sylvia celata, Say. Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p 
45. pl. 5. fig.2. Avup. Orn. Biog. ii, p. 449, pl. 178, Phil. Museum, 
No. 7013.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Greenish-olive ; crown with a fulvous spot; be- 
neath olive-yellow ; vent yellow; wings without bands. 


Tus species, first discovered early in May, on the banks 
of the Missouri, by my friend Mr. T. Say, appeared to be 
on its passage further north. It is not uncommon, in win- 
ter, in the orange groves of West Florida, where it pro- 
ceeds to pass the season, around St. Augustine; and its 
note is described as a mere chirp and faint squeak, scarcely 
louder than that of a mouse. 

This species, according to Audubon, breeds in the east- 


40* 


A7A INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


ern part of Maine, and in New Brunswick and Nova 
Scotia. Its nest is composed of lichens intermixed with 
bits of fine grass, lined with delicate root fibres, and a 
large quantity of feathers. The eggs, 4 to 6, are of a pale 
green, sprinkled with small black spots. The nest, 3 to 5 
feet from the ground, is situated usually in the forks of a 
low fir tree. In the month of May we saw this species 
abundant in the forests of the Oregon, where no doubt 
they breed. The song of this species is weak and some- 
what resembling that of most of the Sylvicolas. 


This species is 53 inches long, and about 8 in alar stretch. Above 
dull greenish-olive ; rump and tail-coverts bright yellow olive. Feath- 
ers of the head rather thick and orange at base ; this color only vis- 
ible when the feathers are elevated. Inferior tail-coverts pure yellow. 
Primaries dark brown olive on the edges; tail-feathers similar to the 
quills, edged with white on the inner vanes. Bill dark horn-color. 
Legs dusky. Iris dark brown. — Female nearly similar. 


TROGLODYTES. (Cuvrer.) WRENS. 


In these birds the prut is slender, subulate, somewhat 
arched and elongated, also acute, compressed, and without 
notch; mandibles equal. Nosrrizs basal, oval, half closed 
by amembrane. ‘Toneue slender, the tip divided into 2 
or 3 smalij bristles. [eet slender, tarsus longer than the 
middle toe; inner toe free; posterior with a larger nail 
than the rest.— The wings short, concave, and rounded, 
furnished often with a conspicuous spurious feather or 
short primary; 3d, 4th, and 5th primaries longest. 


The female and young hardly differ in plumage from the adult 
male. The moult is annual. The plumage thick and long, is always 
composed of sombre colors. The body is roundish and the tail almost 
onstantly erected. They are small musical birds, active, courageous 
and capricious in their movements, almost always hid in thickets and 


HOUSE WREN. 475 


bushes, keeping near the ground, to which they often descend to 
forage for worms and insects, and showing a fondness for prying into 
holes and dark places, as well as among logs, &c., where they more 
particularly surprise their prey of spiders and moths. The nest is 
constructed with much art, and the eggs are commonly numerous. 


§ TROGLODYTES. TRUE WRENS. 


Ix these birds the middle toe is rather long and the nails of 
moderate length. In the Common Wren the bill is also somewhat 
straight. 

These are remarkable for their almost domestic habits building often 
from preference about houses, either empty or inhabited ; they also 
sing agreeably ; species of which exist in both continents. 


HOUSE WREN. 


(Troglodytes aedon, Viriti. Avpuson, Orn, Biog. i. p. 427. pl. 83. 
(truly admirable.) Sy/via domestica, Wiison, i. p. 129. pl. 8. fig. 3. 
S, furva, Latu. Phil. Museum, No. 7283.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dark brown, banded with blackish ; a whitish line 


476 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


over the eye; beneath dull pale grey, with obsolete indices of 
bands; the tail rather long and rounded, 


Tuts lively, cheerful, capricious, and well known little 
minstrel is only a summer resident in the United States. 
Its northern migrations extend to Labrador. But it re- 
sides and rears its young principally in the Middle 
States. My friend, Mr. Say, also observed this species 
near Pembino, beyond the sources of the Mississippi, 
in the Western wilderness of the 49th degree of latitude. 
It is likewise said to be an inhabitant of Surinam within 
the tropics, where its delightful melody has gained it the 
nickname of the Nightingale. ‘This region, or the inter- 
mediate country of Mexico, is probably the winter quarters 
of our domestic favorite. In Louisiana it is unknown even 
as a transient visitor,* migrating apparently to the east of 
the Mississippi, and sedulously avoiding the region gen- 
erally inhabited by the Carolina Wren. It is a matter of 
surprise how this, and some other species, with wings so 
short and a flight so fluttering, are ever capable of arriving 
and returning from such distant countries. At any rate, 
come from where he may, he makes his appearance in the 
middle States about the 12th or 15th of April, and is seen 
in New England in the latter end of that month or by the 
beginning of May. They take their departure for the 
South towards the close of September, or early in October, 
and are not known to winter within the limits of the 
Union. 

Some time in the early part of May, our little social vis- 
itor enters actively into the cares as well as pleasures 
which preside instinctively over the fiat of propagation. 
His nest, from preference, near the house, is placed be- 


* AupUBON, Orn. Biog. i. p. 427. 


HOUSE WREN. A777 


neath the eaves, in some remote corner under a shed, out- 
house, barn, or in a hollow orchard tree; also in the de- 
serted cell of the Woodpecker, and when provided with 
the convenience, in a wooden box along with the Martins 
and Blue-birds. He will make his nest even in an old hat, 
nailed up, and perforated with a hole for entrance,* or the 
skull of an ox stuck upon a pole; and Audubon saw one 
deposited in the pocket of a broken down carriage, So 
pertinacious is the House Wren in thus claiming the con- 
venience and protection of human society, that according 
to Wilson, an instance once occurred where a nest was 
made in the sleeve of a mower’s coat, which, in the month 
of June, was hung up accidentally for two or three days in 
a shed near a barn. 

The nest of this species, though less curious than that 
of some other kinds, is still constructed with considerable 
appearance of contrivance. The external approach is bar- 
ricaded with a strong outwork of sticks interlaced with 
much labor and ingenuity. When the nest therefore is 
placed beneath the eaves, or in some other situation con- 
tiguous to the roof of the building, the access to the inner 
fabric is so nearly closed by this formidable mass of twigs, 
that a mere portion of the edge is alone left open for the 
female, just sufficient for her to creep in and out. Within 
this judicious fort is placed the proper nest, of the usual 
hemispherical figure, formed of layers of dried stalks of 
grass and lined with feathers. ‘The eggs, from 6 to 9, are 
of a reddish flesh-color, sprinkled all over with innumera- 
ble fine grains of a somewhat deeper tint. hey generally 
rear two broods in the season ; the first take to flight about 
the beginning of June, and the second in July, or August. 


* This incident, with all the truth and beauty of nature, is given by Audubon in 
his best style. 


A78 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


The young are early capable of providing for their own sub- 
sistence, and twittering forth their petulant cry of alarm. 
It is both pleasant and amusing to observe the sociability 
and activity of these recent nurslings, who seem to move 
in a body, throwing themselves into antic attitudes, 
often crowding together into the old nests of other birds, 
and for some time roosting near their former cradle, 
under the affectionate eye of their busy parents, who 
have perhaps already begun to prepare the same nest for 
a new progeny. Indeed, so prospective and busy is 
the male, that he frequently amuses himself with erecting 
another mansion even while his mate is still sitting on her 
eggs; and this curious habit of superfluous labor seems to 
be more or less common to the whole genus. 

One of these Wrens, according to Wilson, happened to 
lose his mate by the sly and ravenous approaches of a cat, 
an animal which they justly hold in abhorrence. The day 
after this important loss, our little widower had succeeded 
in introducing to his desolate mansion a second partner, 
whose welcome appeared by the ecstatic song which the 
bridegroom now uttered ; after this they remained together, 
and reared their brood. In the summer of 1830, I found a 
female Wren who had expired on the nest in the abortive 
act of laying her first egg. I therefore took away the nest 
from under the edge of the shed in which it was built. The 
male, however, continued round the place as before, and 
still cheerfully uttered his accustomed song. Unwilling to 
leave the premises, he now went to work, and made, unaid- 
ed, another dwelling, and after a time brought a new mate 
to take possession, but, less faithful than Wilson’s bird, or 
suspecting some lurking danger, she forsook the nest after 
entering, and never laid in it; but still the happy warbler 
continued his uninterrupted lay, apparently in solitude. 

The song of our familiar Wren is loud, sprightly, and 


HOUSE WREN. 479 


tremulous, uttered with peculiar animation, and rapidly re- 
peated; at first the voice seems ventriloquial and distant, 
and then bursts forth by efforts into a mellow and echoing 
warble. The trilling, hurried notes seem to reverberate 
from the leafy branches in which the musician sits obscur- 
ed, or is heard from the low roof of the vine-mantled cottage 
like the shrill and unwearied pipe of some sylvan elf. The 
strain is continued even during the sultry noon of the sum- 
mer’s day, when most of the feathered songsters seek repose 
and shelter from the heat. His lively and querulous ditty 
is, however, still accompanied by the slower measured, pa- 
thetic chant of the Red-eyed Flycatcher, the meandering, 
tender warble of the Musical Vireo, or the occasional loud 
mimickry of the Cat-bird ; the whole forming an aérial, al- 
most celestial concert, which never tires the ear. Though 
the general performance of our Wren bears no inconsidera- 
ble resemblance to that of the European species, yet its 
voice is louder and its execution much more varied and de- 
lightful. It is rather a bold and insolent intruder upon 
those birds who reside near it, or claim the same accommo- 
dation. It frequently causes the mild Blue-bird or the 
Martin to relinquish their hereditary claims to the garden 
box, and has been accused also of sucking their eggs. Nor 
is he any better contented with neighbors of his own frater- 
nity who settle near him, keeping up frequent squabbles, 
like other little busy bodies, who are never happy but in 
mischief; so that upon the whole, though we may justly ad- 
mire the fine talents of this petulant domestic, he is, like 
many other actors, merely a good performer. He is still 
upon the whole a real friend to the farmer and horticultu- 
rist, by the number of injurious insects and their destructive 
larve on which both him and his numerous family subsist. 
Bold and fearless, seeking out every advantageous associa- 
tion, and making up in activity what he may lack in 


480 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


strength, he does not confine his visits to the cottage or the 
country, but may often be heard on the tops of houses, even 
in the midst of the city, warbling with his usual energy. 


The House Wren is 4% inches in length; and 5% to 6 inches in alar 
extent. Above deep brown, darkest on the head and neck, and be- 
coming much brighter on the rump. All the feathers, except those 
of the head and neck, barred with dusky. Below dirty whitish grey, 
nearly white towards the belly, feathers of the vent, and a little above, 
elegantly barred with dusky, white, and ferruginous; those just 
above the rump have large round spots of white below, not visible 
unless separated by the hand. Tail and wings strongly barred. Tail 
rather long and wedge-shaped. Bill somewhat long, upper mandible 
dusky brown, the lower pale, almost flesh-color. Legs and feet pale 
whitish yellow.— The female differs very little from the male in 
plumage. 


WOOD WREN. 
( Troglodytes americana, Aup. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 452. pl. 179.) 


Spec. Cnaract. — Dark brown, banded with blackish; no pale line 
over the eye; beneath pale brownish-grey, faintly barred ; tail dis- 
tinctly graduated, nearly 5 inches long. 


Tuts species, so nearly related to the Common House 
Wren, was discovered near Eastport, in Maine, where they 
breed, by Audubon. The young were roving about with 
their parents in the recesses of a dark and tangled wood, 
where they were busily engaged in quest of insects. They 
breed usually in hollow logs in the woods, and seldom ap- 
proach the farm. Dr. Brewer, of Boston, procured the 
egg from the state of Vermont; it is of a dull yellowish- 
white, blotched all over with rather large markings of pale 
purplish red, and zigzag streaks of blackish-brown, more 
numerous around the middle than at either end. 


WINTER WREN. A481 


In winter they have been seen around Charleston, South 
Carolina, in thickets and watery places as well as in the 
woods not far from habitations: its notes are said also to 
differ considerably from those of the House Wren. Spe- 
cimens have been brought from Oregon by Mr. ‘Townsend, 
and they were frequent on the banks of Lewis’s River in 
the Rocky Mountains, so that it is by no means an uncom- 
mon species. 

It has also been obtained in Pennsylvania, and I suspect 
it to be the common species of Massachusetts, as the note 
is different from the House Wren of the Middle States. 


Length near upon 5 inches, extent of wing 64 inches. Bill dusky, 
below brownish-yellow. Feet flesh-color, inclining to brown. Above 
dark reddish-brown, duller, and tinged with grey on the head, obso- 
letely barred with brown, wings and tail undulatingly barred with 
dark brown, edges of the outer primaries lighter. Below pale brown- 
ish-grey, faintly barred on the fore neck, breast, and sides, the under 
tail-coverts distinctly barred. Closely allied to the House Wren; it is 
however somewhat larger, wants the whitish lines over the eye, and 
has the tail much graduated. 


WINTER WREN. 


(Troglodytes hyemalis, Vie1.u. Sylvia troglodytes, Aup. pl. 360. Orn. 
Biog. 4, p. 430. Witson, 1. p. 139. pl. 8. fig. 6. Phil. Museum, No. 
7234.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Brown, banded with dusky; beneath dull rufous- 
greyish with obsolete bands; the tail very short; bill almost 
straight. 


Tus little winter visitor, which approaches the Middle 
States in the month of October, seems scarcely in any way 
distinguishable from the Common Wren of Europe. It 
sometimes passes the winter in Pennsylvania, and accor- 
ding to Audubon even breeds in the Great Pine Swamp in 

Al 


482 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


that state, as well as in New York. Early in the spring it 
is seen on its returning route to the northwest. Mr. Say 
observed it in summer near the base of the Rocky Moun- 
tains ; it was also seen, at the same season, on the White 
Mountains of New Hampshire by the scientific exploring 
party of Dr. Bigelow, Messrs. Boott, and Gray, so that it 
must retire to the Western or mountainous solitudes to 
pass the period of incubation. Mr. Townsend obtained 
specimens of this species in the forests of the Columbia. 
During its residence in the Middle States it frequents the 
broken banks of rivulets, old roots, and decayed logs near 
watery places in quest of its insect food. As in Europe, 
it also approaches the farm-house, examines the wood-pile, 
erecting its tail, and creeping into the interstices like a 
mouse. It frequently mounts on some projecting object 
and sings with great animation. In the gardens and out- 
houses of the city, it appears equally familiar as the more 
common House Wren. 

The nest of the European Wren is often in a bush near 
the ground, stump of a tree, or on the ground itself; they 
also seek the asylum of some corner of the out-house near 
habitations, or some stack of wood, or hole in the wall. 
The form of this fabric is nearly oval, with a small entry 
in the side, and varies externally according to contiguous 
objects; thus, if near a hayrick it is composed sometimes 
outwardly of hay, if on a tree clothed with lichens, these 
are attached to the outside of the nest; but if in a mossy 
stump, the exterior has almost exactly the aspect of a mere 
rude and larger mass of the same moss. The eggs, pro- 
verbially numerous, are said to be from 10 to 18, nearly 
white, with a few reddish spots at the larger end. 

The Wren has a pleasing warble, and much louder than 
might be expected from its diminutive size. Its song like- 
wise continues more or less throughout the year, even 


PARKMAN’S WREN. 483 


during the prevalence of a snow storm it has been heard 
as cheerful as ever; it likewise continues its note till very 
late in the evening, though not after dark. 


The length of the Winter or Common Wren is 34 inches, and the 
alar extent 5. Above dark-brown, crossed with transverse dusky 
touches, except the head and neck which are plain; the black spots 
of the back terminate in minute points of dull white ; the same co- 
lored points are seen on the first row of wing-coverts ; the primaries 
are crossed with alternate rows of black and cream-color. Throat, 
line over the eye, sides of the neck and breast, dirty white, with mi- 
nute transverse touches of drab. Belly and vent thickly mottled 
with sooty black, deep brown, and white, in bars. Tail very short. 
Legs and feet pale clay-color. Bill straight, half an inch long, dark 
brown above, whitish beneath. Iris light hazel. 


PARKMAN’S WREN. 
(Troglodytes Parkmani, Aup. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 310.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Reddish-brown, faintly barred with dusky ; below 
brownish-white, barred at the sides; tail rather long and rounded ; 
bill rather stout and curved. 


Specimens of this species, so nearly related to the Win- 
ter Wren, were obtained in the forests of the Oregon by 
my friend Mr. Townsend, where it is seen as a bird of 
passage apparently in spring and autumn. From the 7. 
hiemalis it differs principally in the bill which is much 
longer, stouter, and decidedly arched. The wings are also 
longer, as is the tail in a still greater degree. The plu- 
mage is similar, and presents nearly the same markings, 
but the colors are much paler, and the lower parts nearly 
greyish-white. 

Length 4 2-12ths inches ; bill along the ridge 7-12ths; wing from 


the flexure 24 inches. A dull whitish band from the upper mandible 
over the eye; below brownish-white, tinged with grey ; the sides 


484 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


brownish, barred with dusky, lower tail-coverts brownish-white, 
barred with dusky. The secondary coverts, and the first small co- 
verts have each a white spot at the tip. 


CAROLINA or MOCKING WREN. 


(Troglodytes ludovicianus, Bonar. Aupuson, pl. 78. Orn. Biog. i. p. 
399. Sylvia ludoviciana, sp. 150. Latu. Certhia caroliniana, Wit- 
SON, il. p. 61. pl. 12. fig. 5. Phil. Museum, No. 7248.) 


Spec. Cuaract, — Chesnut-brown ; wings and tail with dusky-bars, 
the coverts tipt with white ; beneath pale rusty, inclining to grey 
on the throat; the vent white, barred with black ; a whitish stripe 
over the eye, extending down to the side of the neck. — Female, 
lighter, without the white on the wing coverts. 


Tats remarkable, mimicking, and Musical Wren is a 
constant resident in the Southern States, from Virginia to 
Florida, but is rarely seen at any season north of the line 


CAROLINA OR MOCKING WREN. 485 


of Maryland or Delaware, though, attracted by the great 
river courses, they are abundant from Pittsburg to New 
Orleans. A few individuals stray, in the course of the 
spring, as far as the line of New York, and appear in New 
Jersey and the vicinity of Philadelphia early in the month 
of May. On the 17th of April, returning from a Southern 
tour of great extent, I again recognised my old and pleasing 
acquaintance, by his usual note, near Chester on the Dela- 
ware, where, I have little doubt, a few remain and pass the 
summer, retiring to the South only as the weather becomes 
inclement. On the banks of the Patapsco, near Baltimore 
their song is still heard to the close of November. Accord- 
ing to Audubon, the nest of this bird is usually placed in a 
hole in some low and decayed tree, or in a fence-post ; 
sometimes also in a stable, barn, or out-house. ‘The mate- 
rials employed are hay, dry grass, and leaves, for the outer 
part; with a lining of horse-hair, or the capillary dry fibres 
of the Long-moss ( 7%/landsia). Sometimes the nest is 5 
or 6 inches deep, but, with the usual precaution of the 
family, so narrow in the entrance as only to admit of one 
of the birds at a time. The eggs, 5 to 8, are oval, and 
greyish-white, spotted with reddish-brown. Like the com- 
mon species, an individual (probably one of the young 
birds) has been observed to roost for a time in an old 
Wood Thrush’s nest which had been filled with fallen 
leaves. They are so prolific as to raise two, and sometimes 
three broods in a season. 

Our bird has all the petulance, courage, industry, and 
familiarity of his particular tribe. He delights to survey 
the meanders of peaceful streams, and dwell amidst the 
shady trees which adorn their banks. His choice seems 
to convey a taste for the picturesque and beautiful in 
nature, himself, in the fore-ground, forming one of the 
most pleasing attractions of the scene. Approaching the 

Al* 


486 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


water-fall, he associates with its murmurs the presence of 
the King-Fisher, and modulating the hoarse rattle of his 
original into a low, varied, desponding note, he sits on 
some depending bough by the stream, and calls, at inter- 
Pr rrh. 
In the tall trees by the silent stream, he recollects the 
lively, common note of the Tufted Titmouse, and repeats 
the peto peto peto peet, or his peevish katétédid, katétedid, 
katedid. While gleaning low, amidst fallen leaves and 
brush-wood, for hiding and dormant insects and worms, he 
perhaps brings up the note of his industrious neighbor the 
Ground Robin, and sets to his own sweet and liquid tones 
the simple towcet toweet toweet. ‘The tremulous trill of the 
Pine Warbler is then recollected, and tr’rr’r’r’r’ 


vals, in a slow voice, tee-yurrh tee-yurrh, or chr’r 


ry srk as 
whistled. In the next breath comes his imitation of the 
large Woodpecker, woity woity woity and wotchy wotchy 
wotchy, or tshovee tshovee tshof, and tshooadee tshooadee 
tshooadeet, then varied to tshuvai tshuvai tshuvat, and 
toovaiiah toovaitah toovaiiatoo. Next comes perhaps his 
more musical and pleasing version of the Blackbird’s short 
song, wottitshee wottitshee wottitshee. 'To the same smart 
tune is now set a chosen-part of the drawling song of the 
Meadow Lark,* precédo precédo preceet, then varied receé- 
do recédo receet and tecedo tecedo teceet ; or changing to a 
bass key, he tunes sooteet sooteet soot. Once, I heard this 
indefatigable mimick attempt delightfully the warble of the 
Bluebird in the month of February. The bold whistle of 
the Cardinal Bird is another of the sounds he delights to 
imitate and repeat in his own quaint manner; such as vif- 
yu vit-yu vit-yu, and visknu vishnu vishnu, then his wortee 
woitee woitee and wiltee wiltee wiltee. Soon after I first 
heard the note of the White-eyed Vireo in March, the 


* Sturnella ludoviciana. 


CAROLINA OR MOCKING WREN. 487 


Carolina Wren immediately mimicked the note of teeah 
wewa, wittee weewd. Some of these notes would appear 
to be recollections of the past season, as imitations of the 
Maryland Yellow-Throat (wittisee wittisce wittisee wit, and 
shewaidit shewaidit shewaidit) not yet heard or arrived 
within the boundary of the United States. So also his 
tsherry tsherry tsherry tshup is one of the notes of the 
Baltimore Bird, yet in South America. 

While at Tuscaloosa, about the 20th of February, one 
of these Wrens, on the borders of a garden, sat and re- 
peated for some time, tshe-whiskee whiskee whiskee, then 
soolait soolait soolait ; another of his phrases is tshukadee 
tshukadee tshukadeetshoo, and chjibway chjibway chjibway, 
uttered quick; the first of these expressions is 1n imitation 
of one of the notes of the Scarlet Tanager. Amidst 
these imitations and variations which seem almost endless, 
and lead the stranger to imagine himself, even in the depth 
of winter, surrounded by all the quaint choristers of the 
summer, there is still, with our capricious and tuneful 
mimick, a favorite theme more constantly and regularly re- 
peated than the rest. ‘This was also the first sound that I 
heard from him, delivered with great spirit, though in the 
dreary month of January. This sweet and melodious 
ditty, tsee-toot tsee-toot tsec-toot, and sometimes tsee-toot 
tsee-toot sect, was usually uttered in a somewhat plaintive 
or tender strain, varied at each repetition with the 
most delightful and delicate tones, of which no concep- 
tion can be formed without experience. That this song 
has a sentimental air may be conceived from its interpreta- 
tion by the youths of the country, who pretend to hear it 
say, swéet-heart swéet-heart swéct! nor is the illusion more 
than the natural truth, for, usually, this affectionate ditty 
is answered by its mate, sometimes in the same note, at 
others, in a different call. In most cases it will be remark- 


488 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


ed, that the phrases of our songster are uttered in 3s; by 
this means, it will generally be practicable to distinguish 
its performance from that of other birds, and particularly 
from the Cardinal Grosbeak, whose expressions it often 
closely imitates both in power and delivery. I shall never, 
I believe, forget the soothing satisfaction and amusement 
I derived from this little constant and unwearied minstrel, 
my sole vocal companion through many weary miles of a 
vast, desolate, and otherwise cheerless wilderness. Yet 
with all his readiness to amuse by his Protean song, the 
epitome of all he had ever heard, or recollected, he was 
still studious of concealment, keeping busily engaged near 
the ground, or in low thickets in quest of his food; and 
when he mounted a log or brush pile, which he had just 
examined, his color, so similar to the fallen leaves and win- 
try livery of nature, often prevented me from gaining a 
glimpse of this wonderful and interesting mimick. 

Like the preceding species, he has restless activity, and 
a love for prying into the darkest corners after his prey, and 
is particularly attached to the vicinity of rivers and wet 
places, when not surrounded by gloomy shade. His quick 
and capricious motions, antic jerks, and elevated tail, re- 
semble the actions of the House Wren. Eager and lively 
in his contracted flight, before shifting he quickly throws 
himself forward so as nearly to touch his perch previous 
to springing from his legs. In Tuscaloosa and other towns 
in Alabama, he appeared frequently upon the tops of the 
barns and outhouses, delivering with energy his varied and 
desultory lay. At Tallahassee, in West Florida, I observed 
one of these birds chanting near the door of a cottage, and 
occasionally imitating, in his way, the squalling of the ery- 
ing child within, so that, like the Mocking Bird, all sounds 
if novel, contribute to his amusement. 


BEWICK’S WREN. 489 


The Mimicking Wren is about 54 inches long, and 7 in alar dimen- 
sions. Above chesnut-brown, the wings and tail barred with dusky ; 
a streak of yellowish-white passes over the eye and descends to the 
sides of the neck ; below that, a streak of reddish brown extends from 
behind the eye to the shoulder. The chin is yellowish-white or pale 
grey, the rest of the body below is of a pale rust-color; the vent 
white, barred with black. Wing-coverts minutely tipt with white. 
Legs and feet dusky flesh color. Bill % of an inch long, with the 
upper mandible bluish-black, the lower lighter. Tail wedge-shaped, 
the 2 exterior feathers on each side 3 of an inch shorter. — As in the 
two preceding species, the feathers of the lower part of the back 
when parted appear below spotted with white, but broadly tipt above 
with reddish-brown. 


BEWICK’S WREN. 


(Troglodytes Bewickii, Aun. pl. 18. Orn. Biog. i. p. 96; and Synop- 
sis, p. 74.) 
Spec. Cuaract. — Chesnut-brown; beneath cinereous, inclining to 


white ; stripe over the eye pale yellowish-brown ; tail long, and 


rounded, the lateral feathers spotted, and the external barred on the 
outer webs with black and white. 


For the discovery of this beautiful species of Wren, 
apparently allied to the preceding, with which it seems 
nearly to agree in size, we are indebted to the indefatigable 
Audubon, in whose splendid work it is for the first time 
figured. It was observed by its discoverer, towards the 
approach of winter, in the lower part of Louisiana. Its 
manners are very similar to those of otler species, but in- 
stead of a song, at this season, it only uttered a low twitter. 

Dr. Bachman found this species to be the most prevalent 
of any other in the mountains of Virginia, particularly about 
the Salt Sulphur Springs, where they breed and pass the 
season. ‘The notes bear some resemblance to those of the 
Winter Wren, being scarcely louder or more connected, 


490 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


From its habit of prying into holes and hollow logs, it is 
supposed to breed in such situations. Mr, Trudeau believes 
it to breed in Louisiana. In the marshy meadows of the 
Wahlamet, Mr. Townsend and myself frequently saw this 
species, accompanied by the young, as early as the month 
of May. At this time they have much the habit and man- 
mers of the Marsh Wren, and probably nest in the tussocks 
of rank grass in which we so frequently saw them gleaning 
their prey. ‘They were now shy, and rarely seen in the 
vicinity of our camp. j 


Length 5 inches, alar extent 64. Wings slenderly barred with 
dusky. Tail long, the central feathers chesnut, barred with dusky, 
the rest nearly black, with the outer webs crossed with white. The 
outer tail-feathers not more than half the length of the middle ones. 
Legs and bill dusky-brown, the lower mandible paler. 


ROCK WREN. 


(Troglodytes obsoletus, Say. Aup. Orn. Biog. 4. p. 443. pl. 360. 
[female]. Myothera obsoleta, Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 6. pl. 1. fig. 2. 
[male.] Phil. Museum, No. 2420.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dusky-brownish, waved with paler lines ; beneath 
whitish marked with brown; tail long and rounded, bordered with 
ferruginous yellow; bill one inch long. 


Tis large species was discovered near the Arkansa 
river, in the neighborhood of the Rocky Mountains, by 
Major Long’s exploring party, and first described by Mr. 
T. Say. The individual was a male, obtained in the month 
of July. The only note at this time heard from it was 
harsh like the voice of the Tern, (probably a note of alarm 
from the parent in cautioning its young). It appeared to 
inhabit a sterile district devoid of trees, hopped along the 
ground, or flitted through the branches of the low stunted 


ROCK WREN. 491 


junipers which bordered the river, in small families of five 
or six individuals, While thus engaged, it spread out its 
tail, but showed no inclination to climb, perching merely in 
the usual manner of the other Wrens. 

On the 21st of June, 1834, on the ledges of the bluffs 
which border the bottom of Ham’s Fork of the Siskadee 
(or Colorado of the West), I heard, and at length saw this 
curious Mountain Wren. Its actions are those of the Caro- 
lina species, ( Troglodytes ludovicianus). 'The old female 
(as I supposed) sat upon a ledge of rock at the head of a 
high ravine in the bluff, cocking her tail and balancing her- 
self, at the same time uttering a churr, churr, and te aigh, 
with a strong guttural accent, and now and then, when ap- 
proached, like the common Short-billed Marsh Wren, ( T7ro- 
glodytes brevirostris), a quick, guttural tshe de de. It has 
also a shrill call at times, as it perches on a stone on the 
summit of some hill, again similar to the note of the Caro- 
lina Wren, occasionally interrupted by a churr. Among 
these arid and bare hills of the central table-land they were 
quite common. ‘The old ones were feeding and watching 
a brood of four or five young, which, though fully grown, 
were protected and cherished with the querulous assiduity 
so characteristic of the other Wrens, ‘They breed under 
the rocky ledges where we so constantly observed them, 
beneath which they sculk at once when surprised, and per- 
tinaciously hide in security, like so many rats. Indeed, so 
suddenly do they disappear among the rocks, and remain so 
silent in their retreat, that it 1s scarcely possible to believe 
them beneath your feet, till after the lapse of a few minutes 
you hear a Jow, cautious chirp, and the next instant, at the 
head of the ravine, the old female probably again appears, 
scolding, and jerking in the most angry attitudes she is ca- 
pable of assuming. In the same rocky retreats they are 
commonly accompanied by a kind of small striped Ground 


492 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


‘ 


Squirrel, like that of the eastern coast in many respects, 
but much smaller. These little animals, which are nume- 
rous, the White-chinned Buzzard, ( Buteo vulgaris of Ricu- 
ARDSON and Swarnson,) and the Raven frequently hover 
over and pounce upon. We met with this species as far 
west as the lowest falls of the Columbia, or within a few 
miles of Fort Vancouver, but among rocks and cliffs, as 
usual, 

The Rock Wren is 6 inches long. The bill about an inch from the 
corner of the mouth to the point, is very slender, and of a dark color. 
.The feet are dusky ; the tarsus § ofan inch. Iris dark brown. Above 
dusky-brownish, slightly undulated with pale lines, and tinted on the 
top of the head and upper part of the back with dull ferruginous. 
Sides of the head dull whitish, a brown line passing through the eye. 
Beneath whitish, with pale brown lines, except the belly, which is 
wholly white, and the flanks slightly tinged with ferruginous. The 
primaries spotless; tail-coverts pale, with fuscous bands; inferior 


tail-coverts white with dark brown bands. Tail nearly 2 inches, 
rounded, and obsoletely bended. 


SPOTTED GREY WREN. 


(Troglodytes maculosa, Noxts.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Above cinereous-grey ; side of the throat and 
breast with whitish spots. 


On the 4th of July, 1834, in the thick forests of Point 
Chinhook, near the estuary of the Columbia, I saw and 
heard this melodious Wren, which has a very protracted 
and sweet note, trilling and quavering in the usual manner 
of this family of birds. On the 13th of April in the follow- 
ing year, I again saw this little active Wren, in a thicket 
near the village of Santa Barbara, in Upper California. At 
my approach the male uttered his usual jarring scold, and 
at intervals rose to the branches of the bushes, elevating 
and depressing the tail and uttering at this time an uncouth 
guttural and querulous song. 


SHORT-BILLED MARSH-WREN. 493 


§ Turyoruorvs, (Marsh-Wrens.) 


These birds scarcely merit any separation from the preceding, dif- 
fering merely in their habits ; their feet, better formed for climbing 
among reeds and rank herbage, have all the toes nearly of equal 
length, the middle one only a trifle longer, and the hinder toe more 
robust ; the claws, however, are all long, slender, and very sharp. 
There is no sensible difference in the bill of these from the preceding 
section, except that it may be a little more slender. The spurious 
feather in the wings is the same as in the true Wrens. 

These birds frequent, and live exclusively in watery and enswamp- 
ed situations, sometimes among reeds, which they grasp, and ascend 
by hops. Their voice is less musical than in the birds of the preced- 
ing section, but not without some degree of similar harmonious mod- 
ulation. They are peculiar to America, and extend to the extremity 
of the South American hemisphere. 


SHORT-BILLED MARSH-WREN. 


( Troglodytes *brevirostris, Nogwis. Read in Acad. Nat. Sc. Philadel. 
Transactions of the American Academy, v. p. 98, witha figure. 
Avp. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 427, and Synop. p. 77.) 

42 


494 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Spec. Cuaract. — Billshorter than the head, which is striated ; above 
dark brown, varied with rufous and whitish ; beneath, except the 
white throat and centre of the breast, pale rufous; wings barred, 


Tus amusing and not unmusical little species inhabits 
the lowest marshy meadows, but does not frequent the 
reed-flats. It never visits cultivated grounds, and is at all 
times shy, timid, and suspicious. It arrives in this part 
of Massachusetts about the close of the first week in May, 
and retires to the South by the middle of September at 
farthest, probably by night, as it is never seen in progress, 
so that its northern residence is only prolonged about four 
months. In winter they are seen from South Carolina to 
Texas. 

Its presence is announced by its lively and quaint song 
of ’tsh ’tship, a day day day day, delivered in haste and 
earnest at short intervals, either when he is mounted on a 
tuft of sedge, or while perching on some low bush near 
the skirt of the marsh. The ’tsh ’tship is uttered witha 
strong aspiration, and the remainder with a guttural echo. 
while thus engaged, his head and tail are alternately de- 
pressed and elevated, as if the little odd performer were 
fixed on a pivot. Sometimes the note varies to ‘tship ’tship 
‘tshia, dh’ dh’ dh’ dh’, the latter part being a pleasant trill. 
When approached too closely, which not often happened, 
as he permitted me to come within two or three feet of his 
station, his song becomes harsh and more hurried, like 
’tship da da da, and de, de, de de d’ d dh, or tshe de de de 
de, rising into an angry, petulant cry, which is sometimes 
also a low hoarse and scolding daigh daigh; then again 
on invading the nest, the sound sinks to a plaintive ’ésh 
tship, ’tsh tship. In the early part of the breeding season, 
the male is very lively and musical, and in his best humor 
he tunes up a ’tship ’tship tship a dee, with a pleasantly 
warbled and reiterated de. At a later period, another 


SHORT-BILLED MARSH-WREN. 495 


male uttered little else than a hoarse and guttural daigh, 
hardly louder than the croaking of a frog. When ap- 
proached they repeatedly descend into the grass, where 
they spend much of their time in quest of insects, chiefly 
erustaceous, which, with moths, constitute their principal 
food ; here unseen they still sedulously utter their quaint 
warbling; and ¢tship tship a day day day day, may, for 
about a month from their arrival, be heard pleasantly 
echoing on a fine morning from the borders of every low 
marsh and wet meadow, provided with tussucks of sedge- 
grass, in which they indispensably dwell, for a time en- 
gaged in the cares and gratification of raising and provi- 
ding for their young. 

The nest of the Short-Billed Marsh-Wren is made wholly 
of dry, or partly green sedge, bent usually from the top of 
the grassy tuft in which the fabric is situated. With much 
ingenuity and labor these simple materials are loosely en- 
twined together into a spherical form, with a small and 
rather obscure entrance left in the side; a thin lining is 
sometimes added to the whole, of the linty fibres of the 
silk weed, or some other similar material. The eggs, pure 
white, and destitute of spots, are probably from 6 to 8. 
In a nest containing 7 eggs, there were 3 of them larger 
than the rest, and perfectly fresh, while the 4 smaller were 
far advanced towards hatching; from this circumstance 
we may fairly infer that ¢wo different individuals had laid 
in the same nest; a circumstance more common among 
wild birds than is generally imagined. This is also the 
more remarkable, as the male of this species, like many 
other Wrens, is much employed in making nests, of which 
not more than one in three or four are ever occupied by 
the females! 

The summer limits of this species, confounded with 
the ordinary Marsh-Wren, are yet unascertained; and 


496 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


it is singular to remark how near it approaches to an- 
other species inhabiting the temperate parts of the south- 
ern hemisphere in America, namely, the Sylvia platen- 
sis, figured and indicated by Buffon. ‘The description, 
however, of this bird, obtained by Commerson on the banks 
of La Plata, is too imperfect for certainty. It was found 
probably in a marshy situation, as it entered the boat in 
which he was sailing. ‘The time of arrival and departure 
in this species, agreeing exactly with the appearance of 
the Marsh-Wren of Wilson, appears to prove that it also 
exists in Pennsylvania with the following, whose migration, 
according to Audubon, is more than a month earlier and 
later than that of our bird. Mr. Cooper, however, has not 
been able to meet with it in the vicinity of New York; but 
Dr. Trudeau found its nest in the marshes of the Delaware. 


The Short-Billed Marsh-Wren is about 44 inches long. The bill 
4 an inch from the tip to the gape of the mouth. Above blackish- 
brown, varied with white and rufous, chiefly along the shafts of the 
feathers ; top of the head also lined. Wings dusky, conspicuously 
barred with whitish and rufous on the outer webs, 3d and 4th prima- 
ries longest and nearly equal to each other. Upper tail-coverts, ele- 
gantly barred with the three colors above mentioned. Tail rounded, 
barred with dusky and rufous grey. Below, centre of the breast and 
throat, white ; sides of the breast, belly, and vent pale rust-color ; 
beneath the wings the flanks are faintly barred, the feathers having 
a single subterminal band. Legs and feet pale brownish flesh-color ; 
claws scarcely more than half the length of those of the common 
Marsh-Wren. Bill rather dusky above, pale beneath, considerably 
curved, but much compressed at the sides. — The female and young 
scarcely distinguishable from the adult male. 


MARSH-WREN. 


(Troglodytes palustris, Bonar. Avpvuson, pl. 100. Orn. Biog. vol. i. 
p. 500. 7. arundinaceus, Vie1ti. Orn. Amer. pl. 108. p. 59. Cer- 
thia palustris, W1LSoN, ii. p. 58. pl. 12. fig. 4. Phil. Museum, No. 
7282.) 


- 


MARSH-WREN, 497 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dark brown; crown dusky brown; neck and back 
the same, streaked with whitish ; a white stripe over the eye ; be- 
neath silvery-whitish, the vent only tinged with pale brown ; bill 3 
of an inch. 


Tuts retiring inhabitant of marshes and the wet and 
sedgy borders of rivers, arrives in the Middle States of 
the Union early in April, and retires to the south about 
the middle of October. According to Audubon many 
individuals of this species pass the winter near the shores 
of West Florida, and the estuaries of the Mississippi. 
They are scarcely found to the north of the state of 
New York, their place, in New England, being usually 
occupied by the preceding species, though a few individuals 
are known to breed in the marshes near Cambridge and 
Boston ; westward they were met with on the banks of the 
Missouri, within the wooded region, by Mr. Say, and we 
observed them about the middle of July on Lewis’s river 
of the Shoshonee in a marsh near Fort Hall. It is a re- 
markably active and quaint little species, skipping and 
diving about with great activity after its insect food and 
their larve among the rank grass and rushes, near ponds, 
and the low banks of rivers, where alone it affects to dwell, 
laying no claims to the immunities of the habitable circle 
of man; but content with its favorite marshes; neglected 
and seldom seen, it rears its young in security. The song 
of this species, according to the observations of a friend, 
is very similar to that of the preceding, a sort of short, 
tremulous, and hurried warble. Its notes were even yet 
heard in an island of the Delaware, opposite to Phila- 
delphia, as late as the month of September, where they 
were still in plenty in this secluded asylum. ‘Towards the 
close of the breeding season, the song often falls off into a 
low guttural bubbling sound, which appears almost like an 
effort of ventriloquism. 

42* 


498 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


The nest, according to Wilson, is generally suspended 
among the reeds, and securely tied to them at a sufficient 
height above the access of the highest tides. It is formed 
of wet rushes well intertwisted together, mixed with mud, 
and fashioned into the form of a cocoa nut, having a small 
orifice left in the side for entrance. ‘The inside is lined 
with fine, soft grass, sometimes with feathers, and the out- 
side, when hardened by the sun, resists all the injuries of 
the weather. The principal material of this nest, as in 
the preceding species, is, however, according to Audubon, 
the leaves of the sedge-grass, on a tussuck of which it also 
occasionally rests. The eggs are commonly 6 to 8, of a 
dark fawn, or almost mahogany color. The young quit 
the nest about the 20th of June, and they generally have a 
second brood in the course of the season. From the 
number of empty nests found in the vicinity of the resi- 
dence of the Marsh Wren, it is pretty evident that it is 
also much employed in the usual superfluous or capricious 
labor of the genus. ‘The pugnacious character of the 
males, indeed, forbids the possibility of so many nests 
being amicably occupied in the near neighborhood in which 
they are commonly found. 


The Marsh-Wren is a little more than 44 inches long. The tail is 
short, rounded and barred with blackish ; the wings slightly barred ; 
the sides of the neck are mottled with touches of a light clay-color on 
a whitish ground; the rump is also faintly spotted. The legs and 
feet are pale brownish yellow, and large for the size of the bird; the 
tarsus is } of an inch; the nails very long, slender, sharp, and 
arched ; the hind one particularly long, and the toe itself stout, the 
middle toe but slightly exceeds the lateral ones. The bill slender, 
and greatly curved; the upper mandible dark brown, the lower testa- 
ceous, and paler brown towards the tip. Tongue sharp-pointed, at- 
tenuated, and entire. Iris hazel. 


KINGLETS. 499 


SYLVIANA WARBLERS. 


Bill moderate, slender, a little broader than high at the base, decli- 
nate, nearly straight, acute, notches small. Nostrils basal, 2d and 
4th toe nearly equal, 3d longer, adherent at the base. Bristles short 
or weak. First quill very small, 2d, 3d, and 4th longest. This isa 
numerous family in Europe, but in North America confined to the 
two following dissimilar genera, 


REGULUS. (Cuvier.) KINGLETS. 


In these birds the bill is short, straight, very slender, 
subulate, compressed from the base, and narrowed in the 
middle, furnished with bristles at the base, and with the 
edges somewhat bent in; the upper mandible is slenderly 
notched, and a little curved at the tip. Nosrrits basal, 
oval, half closed by a membrane, and additionally covered 
also with 2 small projecting, rigid, and decompound feath- 
ers. ‘Toncue bristly at the tip. The reer slender; tar- 
sus longer than the middle toe; lateral toes nearly equal 
with each other; the inner one free; the hind toe stout- 
est, and furnished with a larger and thicker nail. — Wings 
short, rather acute, with the spurious feather very short; 
the 3d and 4th primaries longest ; the Ist and 7th equal. 
Tail notched. 


The female differs but little from the male ; but the young are con- 
siderably duller in color. They moult annually. The plumage long 
and somewhat bristly ; the head is ornamented with a brilliant spot 
on the crown, These are among the smallest of birds in temperate 
climates, and withstand the rigor of winter, but migrate, as it ad- 
vances, to more temperate countries. In summer they penetrate 
into the arctic regions, and are possessed of great activity, being un- 
weariedly diligent in pursuit of small flying insects, and in collecting 
their eggs and larve. Like the Titmouse they are seen vaulting on 


500 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the extreme twigs of trees, and prying in all directions for their 
lurking prey. The nest is constructed with great art, and affixed 
to depending branches. They have one or two broods in a season; 
and the eggs are sometimes as many as 12. They inhabit the 
north of both continents, migrating indifferently probably through 
either. 


RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. 


(Regulus calendula, Licut. Bonar. Sylvia calendula, Witson, i. p. 
83, pl. 5. fig. 3. Aun. pl. 195. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 546. Phil. Museum, 
No. 7244.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Olivaceous; beneath whitish; crown vermilion, 
and without the black margin. 


Tus beautiful little species passes the summer and 
breeding season in the colder parts of the North Ameri- 
can continent, penetrating even to the dreary coasts of 
Greenland, where, as well as around Hudson’s Bay, and 
Labrador, they rear their young in solitude, and obtain 
abundance of the diminutive flying insects, gnats, and 
cynips, on which, with small caterpillars, they and their 
young delight to feed. In the months of October, and 
November, the approach of winter in their natal regions 
stimulates them to migrate towards the South, when 
they arrive in the Eastern and Middle States, and fre- 
quent in a familiar and unsuspicious manner the gardens 
and orchards: how far they proceed to the south is un- 
certain. On the 12th of January I observed them near 
Charleston, South Carolina, with companies of Sylvzas, 
busily darting through the evergreens in swampy situa- 
tions, in quest of food, probably minute larve. About 
the first week in March I again observed them in West 
Florida in great numbers, busily employed for hours to- 


RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. 501 


gether inthe tallest trees, some of which were already 
unfolding their blossoms, such as the maples and oaks, 
About the beginning of April they are seen in Pennsyl- 
vania on their way to the dreary limits of the continent, 
where they only arrive towards the close of May, so that 
in the extremity of their range they do not stay more 
than three months. Wilson, it would appear, sometimes 
met with them in Pennsylvania even in summer; but, as 
far as I can learn, they are never observed in Massachu- 
setts at that season; and with their nest and habits of 
incubation we are unacquainted. In the fall they seek 
society apparently with the Titmouse and Golden-Crested 
Kinglet, with whom they are intimately related in habits, 
manners, and diet; the whole forming a busy, silent, rov- 
ing company, with no object in view but that of incessantly 
gleaning their now scanty and retiring prey. So eagerly, 
indeed, are they engaged at this time, that scarcely feeling 
sympathy for each other, or willing to die any death but 
that of famine, they continue almost uninterruptedly to 
hunt through the same tree from which their unfortu- 
nate companions have just fallen by the destructive gun. 
They only make at this time, occasionally, a feeble chirp, 
and take scarcely any alarm, however near they are ob- 
served. Audubon met with this species breeding in Labra- 
dor, but did not discover the nest ; its song, he remarks, is 
fully as sonorous as that of the Canary, as powerful and 
clear, and even more varied. 

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a little more than 4 inches long, and 
6 in alar extent. Above green-olive. Wings and tail dusky greyish- 
brown, edged with olive-yellow; secondaries and first row of wing- 
coverts edged and tipt with whitish. The hind head ornamented 
with a vermilion spot; round the eye a ring of yellowish-white. 


Beneath yellowish-white. Legs and feet dusky brown. The colors 
of the female are less lively. 


502 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


CUVIER’S CRESTED KINGLET. 
(Regulus Cuvierti, Aupugon, pl. 55. Orn. Biog. i. p. 288.) 


Spec. CuHaract.—Cinereous olivaceous, beneath greyish-white ; 
crown vermilion, anteriorly margined with black; cheeks cine- 
reous, a black band from the front, though the eyes. 


Tuis is another interesting addition to the North 
American Fauna, which we owe to the talent and supe- 
rior devotion to ornithology of its celebrated discoverer. 
No species can be better marked or more strikingly dis- 
tinguished. It has the ruby-crown of R. calendula, with 
the black border of the R. tricolor. The only specimen 
yet known was shot by its describer, on the 8th of June, 
on the banks of the Schuylkill, not far from Philadelphia. 
Its manners appeared similar to those of the preceding 
species. 


Length 43 inches, alar extent 6. Front, and line through the eye 
extending to the back of the neck, black. Wings and tail dusky, 
edged with yellowish-white ; two narrow short bars of white across 
the wings; alula dusky. Vent yellowish-white. Legs and feet yel- 
lowish-brown. Bill black, slender, and subulate, brighter at its base, 
Iris hazel. 


-— 


3 
ies 
SS TP Lr Le 


AMERICAN FIERY-CROWNED KINGLET. 


(Regulus *tricolor. Avp. Orn. Biog. 11. p. 476. pl. 183. Sylvia regulus, 
WILSsonN, 1. p. 126. pl. 8. fig. 2. [male]. Bonar.i. p. 22. pl. 2. fig. 4. 
[female ].) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Yellowish-olive ; beneath whitish, tinged with 
olive-grey ; cheeks greyish-white ; crown flame-colored, bordered 
with yellow and black ; bill slender and rather short. Length more 
than 4 inches. — Female, beneath greyish-white ; crown lemon 
yellow. — Young male, with the crown golden-yellow. 


Tuts diminutive bird is found, according to the season, 
not only throughout North America, but even in the West 
Indies. A second species with a Fiery Crest (R. ignica- 
pillus), and a third indigenous to Asia, are very nearly re- 
lated to the present; the first having been generally con- 
founded with it, or considered as a variety of the same 
species. Learned ornithologists have referred our bird 
without hesitation to the Fiery-crested Wren, with which, 
however, it only agrees in the brilliance of the crown; and, 
instead of being less, is indeed larger than the true Golden- 
crested species, Like the former, they appear associated 


504 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


only in pairs, and are seen on their southern route, in this 
part of Massachusetts, a few days in October, and about 
the middle of the month, or a little earlier or later accord- 
ing to the setting in of the season, as they appear to fly 
before the desolating storms of the northern regions, whither 
they retire about May to breed. Some of these birds re- 
main in Pennsylvania until December or January, proceed- 
ing probably but little farther south during the winter. 
They are not known to reside in any part of New England, 
retiring to the same remote and desolate limits of the 
farthest north with the preceding species, of which they 
have most of the habits. ‘They are actively engaged during 
their transient visits to the South in gleaning up insects 
and their lurking larve, for which they perambulate the 
branches of trees of various kinds, frequenting gardens 
and orchards, and skipping and vaulting from the twigs, 
sometimes head downwards like the Chicadee, with whom 
they often keep company, making only now and then a 
feeble chirp. ‘They appear at this time to search chiefly 
after spiders and dormant concealed coleopterous or shelly 
insects; they are also said to feed on small berries, and 
some kinds of seeds, which they break open by pecking 
with the bill in the manner of the Titmouse. They like- 
wise frequent the sheltered cedar and pine woods, in which 
they probably take up their roost at night. Early in April 
they are seen on their return to the north in Pennsylvania ; 
at this time they dart among the blossoms of the maple and 
elm in company with the preceding species, and appear 
more volatile and actively engaged in seizing small flies on 
the wing, and collecting minute, lurking caterpillars from 
the opening leaves. On the 2ist of May, (1835), I ob- 
served this species feeding its full fledged young in a tall 
pine tree on the banks of the Columbia river. 

In England the Golden Crested Wren abides throughout 


AMERICAN FIERY-CROWNED KINGLET. 505 


the year; but though in Scotland they breed in the Orkneys, 
at the approach of winter they migrate to the Shetland 
islands over sea, a distance of 60 miles; yet, according 
to Mr. Oidman, they sustain themselves through the winter 
in the pine forests of Sweden. At the period of breeding 
they are said to sing melodiously, but weaker than the 
common Wren. The nest is built usually towards the 
extremities of the branches of the pine and fir, being of a 
spherical form, with a small entry at the side; it is exter- 
nally formed of moss and lichen, and lined with downy 
substances, and filaments, believed to be cobwebs, or pro- 


bably silk of caterpillars or cocoons. The eggs, scarcely 


larger than peas, are from 6 to 12, dusky yellowish white, 
with very minute points or reddish spots, scarcely distin- 
guishable except on narrow inspection. Like the Tit- 
mouse, for some time, the whole busy family hunt in 
company, and appear very lively, active, and amusing. 


The American Golden-crested Kinglet is from 4 to 43 inches long, 
the female 33, cor thereabouts. Above yellow-olive, with the hind head 
and sides of the neck inclining to ash; a dull whitish line, passing 
round the frontlet, extends over and beyond the eye on either side ; 
above passes a broadish stripe of deep black in the same manner ; the 
inner webs and tips of the interior of these dark feathers are of a 
bright lemon-yellow, forming a line of that color, and the lowest of 
these feathers on the front are almost wholly of the same yellow; the 
inner crown then presents a bed of rich flame color, which passes over 
the top of the head. The lateral black and particolored feathers are 
much the longest, and the two tufts are capable of widening or ap- 
proaching, so as at will either to display or conceal the splendor of the 
crown. From the upper mandible to the bottom of the ear-feathers 
runs a line of black, accompanied by another which is whitish, from 
the lower mandible. Beneath greyish-white inclining to yellow. 
Wings and tail dusky, edged with yellow-olive, edges of the inner 
vanes of the former whitish ; greater wing-coverts dusky, tipped with 
white, and edged with olive, forming a whitish bar on the wing ; 
another smaller bar appears also near the shoulder, formed by the tips 
of the upper coverts ; immediately below the greater white bar there 


43 


506 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


is a large dark spot on the secondaries, below which the same feathers 
continue to be edged with olive. Tail rather long and forked. Legs 
brownish-yellow, feet and claws yellow. Bill black and slender, widish 
and depressed at the base. The nostrils, as usual, covered each by a 
decompound, recumbent feather. — The female is much more dusky, 
and dull whitish beneath. : 


SIALIA. (Swarys.) BLUE BIRDS. 


Tue BILu rather robust, short, and cleft to the eyes, 
about as wide as high at the base; upper mandible rounded, 
carinated towards the base, notched and curved at the tip, 
the lower scarcely shorter, straight, compressed at the 
sides. ‘Toneue cartilaginous, shortly lacerate at the base, 
and emarginate at the point. Nosrrits basal, open, oval, 
partly obstructed by an internal tubercle, the nasal fosse 
extensive and depressed. TY arsus rather robust, a little 
shorter than the middle toe; inner toe free; the hind one 
stoutest, longer than the nail. Wings rather long and 
acute ; Ist and 2d primaries longest, the 3d scarcely short- 
er; (spurious feather about an inch long.) 


The Blue-Birds are usually familiar, dwell much in trees, forming 
the nest in their hollow trunks, with a coarse lining of dry grass or 
hay ; they lay 5 or G pale blue and spotless eggs; live on coleopter- 
ous insects, grasshoppers, worms, and berries, in the manner of the 
Thrush, possessing the same pleasing and musical voice. They 
do not affect solitude or retirement ; our common species often takes 
possession of an artificial box near the house or barn, and flits along 
the public path, in preference to the woods or secluded retreats. 


BLUE-BIRD. 


(Sialia Wilsonsii, Swainson. Aun. pl. 113. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 84. Sylvia 
sialis, WiLson, i. p. 56. pl. 3. fig. 3, [male.] Saxicola sialis, Bonar. 
Ann. Lyc. ii. p. 88.) 


Spec. Cuaracr.— Blue; beneath ferruginous; the belly whitish. — 
Female dull blue. — Young, dusky, spotted with white ; beneath 
greyish white, clouded with dusky ; wings and tail bluish. 


Tuts well known and familiar favorite inhabits almost 
the whole eastern side of the continent of America, from the 
48th parallel to the very line of the tropics. Some appear 
to migrate in winter to the Bermudas and Bahama islands, 
though most of those which pass the summer in the North 
only retire to the Southern States, or the table land of Mex- 
ico. In South Carolina and Georgia they were abundant in 
January and February, and even on the 12th and 28th of the 
former month, the weather being mild, a few of these wan- 
derers warbled out their simple notes from the naked limbs 
of the long-leaved pines. Sometimes they even pass the 
winter in Pennsylvania, or at least make their appearance 


508 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


with almost every relenting of the severity of the winter or 
warm gleam of thawing sunshine. From this circumstance 
of their roving about in quest of their scanty food, like the 
hard-pressed and hungry Robin Red-Breast, who by de- 
grees gains such courage from necessity, as to enter the 
cottage for his allowed crumbs; it has without foundation 
been supposed that our Blue-Bird, in the intervals of his 
absence, passes the tedious and stormy time in a state of 
dormancy; but it is more probable that he flies to some 
sheltered glade, some warm and more hospitable situation, 
to glean his frugal fare from the berries of the cedar, or the 
wintry fruits which still remain ungathered in the swamps. 
Defended from the severity of the cold, he now also, in all 
probability, roosts in the hollows of decayed trees, a situa- 
tion which he generally chooses for the site of his nest. In 
the South, at this cheerless season, they are seen to feed on 
the glutinous berries of the misletoe, the green-briar, and 
the sumach. Content with their various fare, and little 
affected by the extremes of heat and cold, they breed and 
spend the summer from Labrador to Natches, if not to Mex- 
ico, where great elevation produces the most temperate and 
mild of climates. They are also abundant, at this season, 
to the west of the Mississippi, in the territories of the Mis- 
souri and Arkansas. 

In the Middle and Northern States, the return of the 
Blue-Bird to his old haunts round the barn and the orchard, 
is hailed as the first agreeable presage of returning spring, 
and he is no less a messenger of grateful tidings to the 
farmer, than an agreeable, familiar, and useful companion 
to all. Though sometimes he makes a still earlier flitting 
visit, from the 3d to the middle of March he comes hither 
as a permanent resident, and is now accompanied by his 
mate, who immediately visits the box in the garden, or the 
hollow in the decayed orchard tree, which has served as 


BLUE-BIRD. 509 


the cradle of preceding generations of his kindred. Af- 
fection and jealousy, as in the contending and related 
Thrushes, have considerable influence over the Blue-Bird. 
He seeks perpetually the company of his mate, caresses and 
soothes her with his amorous song, to which she faintly re- 
plies; and, like the faithful Rook, seeks occasion to show 
his gallantry by feeding her with some favorite insect. If 
a rival make his appearance, the attack is instantaneous, 
the intruder is driven with angry chattering from the pre- 
cincts he has chosen, and he now returns to warble out his 
notes of triumph by the side of his cherished consort. The 
business of preparing and cleaning out the old nest or box 
now commences; and even in October, before they bid 
farewell to their favorite mansion, on fine days, influenced 
by the anticipation of the season, they are often observed to 
go in and out of the box as if examining and planning out 
their future domicil. Little pains, however, are requisite 
for the protection of the hardy young; and a substantial 
lining of hay, and now and then a few feathers, is all that 
is prepared for the brood beyond the natural shelter of the 
chosen situation. As the Martin and House Wren seek 
out the favor and convenience of the box, contests are not 
unfrequent with the parties for exclusive possession; and 
the latter, in various clandestine ways, exhibits his envy and 
hostility to the favored Blue-Bird. The eggs are 5 or 6, of 
a very pale blue, and without spots. As they are very pro- 
lific, and constantly paired, they often raise 2 and some- 
times probably 3 broods in the season ; the male taking the 
youngest under his affectionate charge, while the female is 
engaged in the act of incubation. 

Their principal food consists of insects, particularly 
beetles, and other shelly kinds; they are also fond of 
spiders and grasshoppers, for which they often, in com- 
pany with their young, in autumn, descend to the earth, 


43* 


510 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


in open pasture fields or waste grounds. Like our 
Thrushes, they, early in spring, also collect the common 
wire-worm, or ulus, for food, as well as other kinds of 
insects, which they commonly watch for, while perched 
on the fences or low boughs of trees, and dart after them 
to the ground as soon as perceived. ‘They are not, how- 
ever, flycatchers, like the Sylvicolas and Muscicapas, but 
are rather industrious searchers for subsistence, like the 
Thrushes, whose habits they wholly resemble in their 
mode of feeding. In the autumn, they regale themselves 
on various kinds of berries, as those of the sour gum, 
wild cherry, and others; and later in the season, as win- 
ter approaches, they frequent the red cedars and several 
species of sumach for their berries, eat persimmons in 
the middle States, and many other kinds of fruits, and 
even seeds, the latter of which never enter into the diet 
of the proper Flycatchers. ‘They have also, occasionally, 
in a state of confinement, been reared and fed on soaked 
bread and vegetable diet, on which they thrive as well as 
the Robin. 

The song of the Blue-Bird, which continues almost un- 
interruptedly from March to October, is a soft, rather 
feeble, but delicate and pleasing warble, often repeated 
at various times of the day, but most frequently in early 
spring, when the sky is serene, and the temperature mild 
and cheering. At this season, before the earnest Robin 
pours out his more energetic lay from the orchard tree or 
fence-rail, the simple song of this almost domestic favorite 
is heard nearly alone; and if, at length, he be rivaled, at 
the dawn of day, by superior and bolder songsters, he still 
relieves the silence of later hours, by his unwearied and 
affectionate attempts to please and accompany his devoted 
mate. All his energy is poured out into this simple ditty, 
and with an ecstatic feeling of delight he often raises and 


BLUE-BIRD. 5g 


quivers his wings like the Mocking Orpheus; and, amidst his 
striving rivals in song, exerts his utmost powers to introduce 
variety into his unborrowed and simple strain. On heark- 
ening some time to his notes, an evident similarity to the 
song of the Thrush is observable, but the accents are more 
weak, faltering, and inclining to the plaintive. As in many 
other instances, it is nearly impossible to give any approx- 
imating idea of the expression of warbled sounds by words, 
yet their resemblance to some quaint expressions, in part, 
may not be useless, as an attempt to recall to memory these 
pleasing associations with native harmony; so the Blue- 
Bird, often, at the commencement of his song, seems ten- 
derly to call in a whistled tone ’hear —’héar buty, buty ? 
or merely hear — buty, and instantly follows this interroga- 
tory call with a soft and warbling trill. So much is this 
sound like that which they frequently utter, that on whist- 
ling the syllables in their accent, even in the cool days of 
autumn, when they are nearly silent, they often resume the 
answer in sympathy. During the period of incubation, 
the male becomes much more silent, and utters his notes 
principally in the morning. More importantly engaged, 
in now occasionally feeding his mate as well as himself, 
and perhaps desirous of securing the interesting occupa- 
tion of his devoted consort, he avoids betraying the resort 
of his charge by a cautious and silent interest in their 
fate. Gentle, peaceable, and familiar, when undisturb- 
ed, his society is courted by every lover of rural scenery, 
and it is not uncommon for the farmer to furnish the 
Blue-Bird with a box as well as the Martin, in return for 
the pleasure of his company, the destruction he makes 
upon injurious insects, and the cheerfulness of his song. 
Confident in this protection, he shows but little alarm for 
his undisturbed tenement; while, in the remote orchard, 
expecting no visitor but an enemy, in company with his 


512 ' INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


anxious mate, he bewails the approach of the intruder, and 
flying round his head and hands, appears, by his actions, 
to call down all danger upon himself rather than suffer any 
injury to arrive to his helpless brood. 

Towards autumn, in the month of October, his cheerful 
song nearly ceases, or is now changed into a single plain- 
tive note of tshay-wit, while he passes with his flitting 
companions over the fading woods; and as his song first 
brought the welcome intelligence of spring, so now his 
melancholy plaint presages, but too truly, the silent and 
mournful decay of nature. Even ‘when the leaves have 
fallen, and the forest no longer affords a shelter from the 
blast, the faithful Blue-Bird still lingers over his native 
fields, and only takes his departure in November, when, at 
a considerable elevation, in the early twilight of the morn- 
ing, till the opening of the day, they wing their way in 
small roving troops to some milder regions in the South, 
But yet, after this period, in the Middle States, with every 
return of moderate weather, we hear his sad note in the 
fields, or in the air, as if deploring the ravages of winter; 
and so frequent are his visits, that he may be said to follow 
fair weather through all his wanderings till the permanent 
return of spring. 


The Blue-Bird is about 74 inches long. The wings remarkably full 
and broad. Above arich sky-blue. Inner vanes of the quills and 
their shafts dusky, the outer blue. Beneath ferruginous; belly and 
vent white. Bill and legs black. Inside of the mouth and soles of 
the feet yellow ; the claws very sharp. Iris golden. — The female is 
of much duller colors both above and beneath; the whole back and 
head, except the wings, is almost of a lead-color, with faint tints only 
of blue. — From an accidental injury to the upper mandible, I have 
seen a specimen in which the bill was much lengthened and nearly 
crossed, as in the Lozia. 


WESTERN BLUE-BIRD. - 513 


WESTERN BLUE-BIRD. 


{Sialia occidentalis, Towns. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. vol. 7. p. 
188. Aup. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 41. pl. 393. f. 4, 5. Sialia mexicana ? 
Swans.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Bright blue; shoulders and lower part of the 
breast, chesnut-rufous; chin and upper part of the breast azure; 
belly and vent tinged with blue.— Female and young, greyish, 
faintly tinged with blue ; beneath pale rufous and grey. 


Tue Western Blue-Bird possesses many of the habits of 
our common kind. The male is equally tuneful through- 
out the breeding season. Mounting some projecting branch 
of an oak or low pine, he delivers his delightful ditty with 
great energy, extending his wings, and exerting all his 
powers as it were to amuse his sitting mate, or to allure 
attention to his short, often repeated, but thrilling Jay. In 
the midst of all this charming employment economy is 
rarely forgotten, and a crawling beetle or busy insect is no 
sooner seen than snatched up by our still watchful song- 
ster, who resumes his wonted perch, to be again interrupt- 
ed by the cares of providing a subsistence ; or, reiterating 
his melody, strives to drown the song of some neighboring 
rival by tender strains and more earnest endeavors. He 
appears also equally solicitous with our common species to 
show his affection for his mate, whom he constantly ac- 
companies, feeds, and caresses, with an ardor of affection 
seldom rivalled. His song is more varied, sweet, and ten- 
der than that of the common Sialia, and very different in 
many of its expressions. In the small rocky prairies of 
the Columbia, near its bank, where I first saw and heard 
this species, they were exceedingly shy, probably in conse- 
quence of the presence of birds of prey, which prowled 
around, and it was with difficulty that we got sight of 
them ; but afterwards, in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, in 


514 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Upper California, [ saw them in considerable numbers, and 
very familiar at this time (April) their nests in the knot- 
holes of the oaks which abound in the neighboring plains, 
We first met a flock of young birds alone, in the winter, 
near to Fort Vancouver, flitting through the tall fir trees, 
like so many timorous and silent winter passengers. These 
had so much the appearance of the young of the common 
species, that for some time we paid little attention to them; 
but their silence, the absence of the usual complaints of 
tshaywit, &c. and at length their different notes, convinced 
me of their being distinct, previous to any examination of 
their plumage. This species, unlike the Sialia arctica, 
does not extend to the mountains, but seems constantly to 
affect similar situations with our common kinds along the 
coast of the Pacific, as ours does along that of the Atlan- 
tic. 

Length 7 inches. Bill along the ridge nearly 4 an inch. Wing 
from the flexure almost 44 mches. Bill and feet black. Bright blue, 
approaching ultramarine ; a broad band across the fore part of the 
back, and scapulars, chesnut. Tail and wings dusky brown edged 
with blue and whitish. Sides and fore part of the neck light blue, 


tinged with grey; the fore part of the breast and the sides light 
chesnut ; the rest of the lower parts greyish-white tinged with blue. 


ARCTIC BLUE-BIRD. 


(Sialia arctica, Noxsts. Aup. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 38. pl. 393. f. 2, 3. Ery- 
thaca arctica, Swatns. North. Zool. ii. p. 209. pl. 39.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Blue; beneath greenish-olive, and whitish on the 
lower part of the belly and under tail-coverts. 


__ Or this beautiful and distinct species, only a single spe- 
cimen was procured by the Arctic Expedition, and this 
was shot at Fort Franklin, near Great Bear Lake, in lati- 


ARCTIC BLUE-BIRD. 515 


tude 642°, July, 1825. It appeared to be a mere summer 
straggler, and nothing was learnt respecting its habits. 

About 59 or 60 miles north-west of the usual crossing 
place of that branch of the Platte called Larimie’s Fork, 
in the early part of June, this species of Sialia was not 
uncommon. The female utters a low plaint when her nest 
is approached, the place for which is indifferently chosen in 
a hole in a clay clift, or in that of the trunk of a decayed 
cedar. At this time the young were hatched. The nest 
is made of the usual material of dry grass in a very insig- 
nificant quantity. They are more shy than the common 
species, and have the same mode of feeding by watching 
on some low bush or plant, and descending for an insect. 
We afterwards saw a nest of this species on a cliff of the 
Sandy River, a branch of the Colorado of the West. The 
female.and male were both feeding their brood. The for- 
mer chirped and appeared uneasy at my approach, and at 
intervals uttered a plaintive ye’ow. ‘The male sings more 
quaintly and monotonously than the common kind, but in 
the same general warbling tone and manner. 

Mr. Townsend and myself observed them in the winter 
at Fort Vancouver, associated with the preceding species, 
but these were chiefly small migrating flights of the young 
which had been bred probably far in the interior. 


Length 74 inches. Bill along the ridge $ an inch. Wing from the 
flexure a little more than 44 inches. Bill and feet black. Wings 
long, Ist quill very small, 2d a twelfth shorter than the 3d which is 
longest, which bat little exceeds the 4th. Tail deeply emarginate. 
Above light azure blue, approaching to smalt. Sides of the head, 
fore part and sides of the neck, and the anterior half of the breast, 
light greenish-blue. Abdomen and lower tail-coverts greyish-white. 
The bill a little longer than in the Common Blue-Bird. 


516 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


MOTACILLINA: WAGTAILS. 


Bix of moderate length, straight, slender, a little broader 
than high, declinate, nostrils small. Toes slender, the late- 
ral equal, outer adherent at the base, hind toe rather large, 
generally with a very long claw. Wings long and pointed. 
— Allied to the Larks, with which they agree in some of 
their habits. 


ANTHUS. (Becut.) or TITLARK PIPIT. 


In these birds the pruu is straight, slender, cylindric, and 
subulate towards the point, with the edges somewhat inflect- 
ed towards the middle, and at the base destitute of bristles ; 
the base of the upper mandible carinated, with the point 
slightly notched and declining. Nosrrits basal, lateral, 
half closed by a membrane. Jeet slender; tarsus longer 
than the middle toe; inner toe free; hind toe shortest with 
the nail almost always long, and somewhat straight. — Wings 
moderate, no spurious feather; Ist, 2d, and 3d primaries 
longest; secondaries notched at tip; 2 of the scapulars 
nearly equal to the longest primaries. Tail rather long and 
emarginate. 


The female and young are usually much like the adult male, who 
assumes somewhat more brilliant colors only during a few days of 
the breeding season. The moult is annual.— These birds have many 
of the habits of the Wagtails and also of the Larks; they sing when 
rising on the wing in the same manner as the latter. They live ha- 
bitually on the ground in open places, in fields, and along the gravelly 
borders of streams and other bodies of water; while thus employed 
in collecting their sole insect food, they keep their tails vertically 
moving like the Motacillas ; they also nest on the ground, and most of 
the species never alight on trees. The species, though few, are 
spread over the whole globe. 


BROWN TITLARK, OR PIPIT. 517 


BROWN TITLARK, or PIPIT. 


(Anthus ludovicianus, Licut. 4. spinoletta, Avp. pl 10. Orn. Biog. 
i. p. 49. [adult]. 4. pipiens, Aup. Orn. Biog.i. p. 408. [young]. 
Alauda rufa, Witson, v. p. 89. pl. 42. fig. 4. [young]. Phil. Muse- 
um, No. 5138.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Beneath and line over the eye white ; breast and 
flanks spotted with blackish; tail-feathers nearly black, the outer 
one half white, upon the 2d and often upon the 3d, a conic white 
spot; hind nail long and curved. — Female more spotted below. — 
Young dark-brown inclining to olive, with blackish-brown spots ; 
line over the eye and beneath pale yellowish rufous, the breast 
strongly spotted, and the bill paler.— The old male, for a short 
time in the breeding season, is below of a pale rufous rose-color. 


Tuis is a winter bird of passage in most parts of the 
United States, arriving in loose, scattered flocks from the 
North, imthe Middle and Eastern States, about the second 
week in October. Inthe month of April we saw them in 
numerous flocks, flitting over the prairies of Missouri, on 
their way, no doubt, to their breeding quarters in the inte- 
rior. Audubon found them also in the summer on the 
dreary coast of Labrador. He describes the nest as made 
on moss-covered rocks and cliffs near the sea, somewhat 
sunk in the ground, and made of fine bent grass, without 
any hair or lining. Both sexes incubate by turns, and sit 
so close as to be flushed only when closely approached. 
The eggs were 6, and, like those of the Sky-Lark, reddish- 
brown, with numerous dots and lines of a still deeper color. 
During the breeding season the male often rises on wing to 
the height of eight or ten yards, uttering a few clear and 
mellow notes, and then suddenly settles down near the 
nest or on some projecting rock. ‘They leave Labrador and 
Newfoundland as soon as the young are able to fly, or about 
the middle of August. According to its well-known habits, 
it frequents open flats, commons, and ploughed fields, like a 

44 


518 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Lark, running rapidly along the ground, taking by surprise 
its insect prey of flies, midges, and other kinds; and when 
resting for an instant, keeping the tail vibrating in the man- 
ner of the European Wagtail. They also frequent the river 
shores, particularly where gravelly, in quest of minute shell- 
fish, as well as aquatic insects and their larve. At this 
time they utter only a feeble note or call, like tweet twéet, 
with the final tone often plaintively prolonged; and, when 
in flocks, wheel about and fly pretty high, and to a consid- 
erable distance before they alight. Sometimes families of 
these birds continue all winter in the Middle States, if the 
season prove moderate. In the Southern States, particu- 
larly North and South Carolina, they appear in great flocks 
in the depth of winter. On the shores of the Santee, in 
January, I observed them gleaning their food familiarly 
amidst the Vultures, drawn by the rubbish of the city con- 
veyed to this quarter. They likewise frequent the corn- 
fields and rice-grounds for the same purpose. They emi- 
grate to the Bermudas, Cuba, and Jamaica, and penetrate 
in the course of the winter even to Mexico, Guiana, and 
Brazil. They also inhabit the plains of the Oregon. They 
are again seen on their return to the north, in Pennsylvania, 
about the beginning of May or close of April. 

The European Tit Lark (or Pepit, from its note,) a spe- 
cies so nearly allied to the present, makes its nest in moun- 
tainous countries, even upon the sterile plains of those 
which are most elevated, as the Pyrenees and others ; more 
rarely in salt marshes, or in tufts of grass on shelving rocks 
near the sea. This fabric is made, in the fissures of cliffs, 
of dry grass and a little moss, lined with finer blades of the 
former and a few long hairs. The eggs are 4 or 5, ofa 
sullied white, covered with small brown spots, collected 
chiefly towards the larger end. The younger birds, or 
Dusky Lark, breed on the sea-coast of the south of England. 


BROWN TITLARK, OR PIPIT. 519 


This species is about 7 inches long. Legs chesnut. Lower man- 
dible straight and livid, the upper blackish. Eye hazel. Above (in 
the adult) greyish-brown, with a darker shade in the centre of each 
feather. Small coverts of the wings bordered and edged with grey- 
ish white. Spots of the breast, pale greyish brown. In the young, 
the spots below are dark and conspicuous, and the 2 bands on the 
wing are of a greyish brown; upon the lst and 2d primaries there is 
also a large spot of white. 


ORDER FOURTH. 


GRANIVOROUS or PASSERINE BIRDS. 


In these the sruu is strong, short, thick, more or less 
conic, and advancing back upon the forehead; the ridge 
of the upper mandible is usually somewhat flattened, and 
both portions of the bill are generally without the toothed 
notch. The fee¢ are arranged with three of the toes for- 
ward and one backward, and the anterior digits are divid- 
ed. The wines are of moderate dimensions. 

The general habits of this numerous order of birds are 
to live in pairs, until by instinct they assemble together 
and migrate in numerous troops. According to the cli- 
mates they happen to inhabit, they are either sedentary, or 
birds of passage. The greater number migrate periodi- 
cally, or sometimes only accidentally from countries un- 
equally subjected to the influence of frost. ‘Their nour- 
ishment consists principally of grain and seeds, from 
which they usually shell the husk. Insects principally 
constitute their food during the time they are engaged 
in raising their progeny, and their young are fed wholly 
on this kind of diet; all of them, when adult, may be 
nourished with seeds in a state of captivity. Among all 
the feathered race, after the Pigeons and Gallinaceous 
birds, these associate the most freely with man, and are 


LARKS., §21 


very susceptible of being trained to a domestic state. — 
In a few of the European species the moult is double, 
but the greater number of kinds, inhabiting other coun- 
tries, usually undergo this double change. The males, 
among some of the species, put on extraordinary nuptial 
ornaments, while others, on this occasion, are decorated 
with a brilliant-colored plumage; all of them, however, 
in the winter season, assume the humble garb of the 
female. These remarkable changes take place chiefly 
among those species which inhabit the warmer countries, 
as but few of the species in the United States, any more 
than in Europe, undergo this external transformation. 
Many of them are distinguished for the melody of their 
song; and some for their extraordinary docility in edu- 
cation. 


ALAUDINA. LARKS. 


CHARACTER the same as the Genus Alauda. 


ALAUDA. (Liy.) LARKS. 


In these the BILt is straight, rather short, and in the form almost 
of an extended cone ; the upper mandible convex and entire, slightly 
curved, and nearly of equal length with the lower. Nosrrits at the 
base of the bill, oval, and covered by the advancing feathers of the 
forehead. Tonaue bifid. Ferrer, toes free, hind nail nearly straight, 
and generally longer than the toe. — ings of moderate extent, the 
spurious feather very short or wanting; the 2d and 3d primaries 
longest, the Ist scarcely shorter; secondaries emarginated; two 
of the scapulars nearly as long as the primaries. The tail is usu- 
ally forked. Feathers of the head more or less elongated and capa- 
ble of erection.— Female and young scarcely different from the 
adult male. 

These birds live in flocks or families, dwelling on the ground, on 


44* 


522 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


which they form their nests; they have also the habit of dusting 
themselves by fluttering on the earth; they feed on seeds, and 
rarely on insects; fly well, run with rapidity, and sing briskly as 
they rise almost perpendicularly into the air. The moult is annual. 
Their flesh is esteemed ; and the species are spread almost over the 
whole globe. 


SHORE LARK. 


(Alauda alpestris, Lixy. Witson, i. p. 85. pl. fig. 4. [female]. Avp. 
Orn. Biog. ii. p. 570. pl. 200. 4. cornuta, Swains. Phil. Museum, 
No. 5190.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Reddish-grey, inclining to brown; beneath, except 
the sides, whitish ; throat and stripe over the eye pale-yellow; a 
broad patch on the breast, and another under and through each 
eye, with the lateral tail-feathers black; the two outer exteriorly 
white. — Female with the front yellowish, and with black and 
brown on the top of the head, the black collar on the throat smaller, 
and the tail terminated by a narrow whitish band. 


Tuts beautiful species is common to the north of both 
the old and new continent, but, as in some other instances 
already remarked, the shore lark extends its migrations 
much further over America than over Europe and Asia. 
Our bird was met with in the Arctic regions by the late 


SHORE LARK. 523 


adventurous voyagers, and Mr. Bullock saw them in the 
winter around the city of Mexico, so that in their migra- 
tions over this continent they spread themselves across the 
whole habitable Northern hemisphere to the very equator ; 
while in Europe, according to the careful observations of 
Temminck, they are unknown to the south of Germany. 
Pallas met with these birds round Lake Baikal and on the 
Wolga, in the 53d degree of latitude. Westward they have 
also been seen in the interior of the United States, along 
the shores of the Missouri. 

They arrive in the Northern and Middle States late in 
the fall or commencement of winter, in New England they 
are seen early in October, and disappear generally on the 
approach of the deep storms of snow, though straggling 
parties are still found nearly throughout the winter. In the 
other States to the South they are more common at this 
season, and are particularly numerous in South Carolina 
and Georgia, frequenting open plains, old fields, common 
grounds, and the dry shores and banks of bays and rivers, 
keeping constantly on the ground, and roving about in 
families under the guidance of the older birds, who, watch- 
ing for any approaching danger, give the alarm to the young 
in a plaintive call, very similar to that which is uttered by 
the Sky-Lark in the same circumstances. Inseparable in 
all their movements, like the hen and her fostered chickens, 
they roost together in a close ring or company, by the mere 
edge of some sheltering weed or tuft of grass on the dry 
and gravelly ground; and, thickly and warmly clad, they 
abide the frost and the storm with hardy indifference. 
They fly rather high and loose, in scattered companies, and 
follow no regular time of migration, but move onward only 
as their present resources begin to fail. ‘They are usually 
fat, esteemed as food, and are frequently seen exposed for 
sale in our markets. Their diet, as usual, consists of 


§24 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


various kinds of seeds which still remain on the grass and 
weeds they frequent, and they swallow a considerable por- 
tion of gravel to assist their digestion. They also collect 
the eggs and dormant Jarve of insects when they fall in 
their way. About the middle of March they retire to the 
North, and are seen about the beginning of May round 
Hudson’s Bay, after which they are no more observed till 
the return of autumn. They are said to sing well; rising 
into the air and warbling as they ascend, in the manner of 
the Sky-Lark of Europe. While travelling to the Rocky 
Mountains on the 10th of June, on the prairies of the 
Sweet Water, a branch of the Platte, we started the Shore 
Lark from her nest in a small depression on the ground. 
It was made of bent grass, and lined with coarse bison hair. 
The eggs were olive-white, minutely spotted all over with 
a darker tinge. On the 6th of July we already saw flocks 
of young Shore Larks flying about, on the plains of Bear 
River in the Rocky Mountains. This species arrives in 
the fur countries along with the Lapland Bunting, with 
which it associates, and being more shy, acts the sentinel 
usually to the whole company in advertising them of the 
approach of danger. It soon after retires to the marshy 
and woody districts to breed, extending its summer range 
to the Arctic Sea. According to Hutchins it nests on the 
ground, and lays 4 or 5 white eggs, spotted with black. 
Mr. Audubon also found this species breeding on the low, 
mossy and sheltered hills along the dreary coast of Labra- 
dor ; making anest of withered grass, &c., sunk a little 
below the surface. The male, he adds, like the Common 
Lark, soars into the air, sings with cheerfulness over the 
resort of his mate, and roosts beside her and his nest on the 
ground, having at this season a very remarkable appearance 
in the development of the black and horn-like egrets. The 
whole group are spiritedly drawn by Audubon in his most 
happy and animated style. 


CALENDRE LARK. §25 


The length of the Shore Lark is something more than 7 inches, 
and the alar extent about 12. A broad fan-shaped portion of black on 
the breast, in which as well as in the black spot beneath the eye, the 
feathers are slenderly edged with pale yellow; back of the neck and 
towards the shoulders greyish-brown, tinged with obscure rose-red. 
Lesser coverts of the wings bright cinnamon ; greater wing-coverts 
the same,-interiorly dusky and tipt with whitish; back and wings 
rufous-grey, the feathers each with a dusky centre; primaries dusky, 
tipt and edged with whitish; secondaries broadly edged with pale 
drab, and widely notched at the tips. Tail black and forked, the two 
middle feathers reddish-grey centered with dusky, the two outer with 
the exterior webs white ; breast with a dusky vinous tinge and mark- 
ed with very faint greyish spots. Sides streaked with pale reddish- 
grey. Belly and vent white. Bill dusky. Tongue truncate and 
bifid. Legs and claws black. Hind-heel very long and almost 
straight. Iris hazel. — Above the eye-brow on either side of the 
head there is a tuft of long black feathers which the bird has, at will, 
the power of erecting like the horns of the owl. 


CALENDRE LARK. 


(Alauda calandra, Lin. Syst. p. 288. Laru. iii. p. 382. Ricw. and 
Swatiys. North. Zool. ii. p. 244. Calandra Lark, Penn. Arct. 
Zool. ii. No. 280. The Calandra, Epwarps, Glean. pl. 268. La 
Calandra, ou Grosse Alouette, Burr. v. p. 49. Ip. Pl. Enlum. 363.) 


Spec. Coaract.— Dark reddish-brown ; a black line from the bill 
passing beyond the eye, and a narrow crescent of the same across 
the breast; belly, vent, and throat white. 


Epwarps, on the authority of a dealer in birds, was the 
first who described this bird as American; but no subse- 
quent author mentions having seen specimens from this 
continent. There is, however, an individual from the fur 
countries in the British Museum, presented by the Hudson’s 
Bay Company, which, according to Richardson, differs from 
an European example solely in having the bill and tarsus 
rather shorter. ‘This species is common in the southern 
parts of Europe. In Asia it is seen around Aleppo, and is 


526. GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


frequent in the Tartarian deserts which border the Don and 
the Volga. 


in this specimen from Hudson’s Bay, the upper plumage is liver- 
brown, with pale margins. The throat, belly, inner borders of the 
tertiaries, exterior tail feathers, and the ends of the adjoining pair, 
white ; the other tail feathers, except the middle pair, slightly tipped 
with the same. Flanks and breast pale brown, the latter spotted with 
umber. A dark brown collar on the anterior base of the neck, and 
two umber-brown marks on the sides of the same, separated by white, 
Bill greyish, tipped with brown; strong, somewhat compressed, and 
very slightly curved. The hind claw is long and straight. — Length 


73 inches ; the tail 3 inches; the bill above, 9 lines; tarsus 1 inch 2 
lines. 


FRINGILLINA FINCHES. 


Tus very natural family, containing many genera of 
different habits, and occupying an extensive geographic 
range, presents scarcely any character different from that 
of the genus Fringilla of Linneus. Many of them are 
amongst our most common and familiar birds. By almost 
insensible gradations of form, they pass, on the one hand, 
into the genus Jcterus, and on the other, into the Larks. 


EMBERIZA. (Lin.) BUNTINGS. 


In these the Bit is short, robust, conic, somewhat com- 
pressed and without notch ; the margins contracted inward, 
a little angular near the base; the upper mandible rounded 
above, acute, smaller and narrower than the lower ; the pal- 
ate with a longitudinal bony tubercle; the lower mandible 
rounded beneath, and very acute. Nostrits basal, small, 
partly covered by the feathers of the forehead. Tarsus 
about equal to the middle toe ; the lateral toes equal; outer 


BLACK-THROATED BUNTING. ir Fl 


united at base to the middle one. Wings, first primary 
almost equal to the 2d and 3d, which are longest. Tail 
even or emarginate. 


The female differs from the male. The young resemble the female, 
but are darker and more deeply spotted. The European and North 
American species moult annually. They live in pairs or move in 
small families, and feed on farinaceous seeds, and sometimes on in- 
sects, which they kill previous to swallowing. They build amidst 
low bushes and grass; are somewhat musical, and breed several 
times a year; the eggs being 4 to6. They extend themselves widely 
in temperate climates. 


BLACK-THROATED BUNTING. 


(Emberiza americana, Gm. W11son, 1. p. 54. pl. 3. fig. 2. [male]. Avon. 
Orn. Biog. 4. p. 579. pl. 384. Fringilla americana, Bonar. Phil. 
Museum, No. 5952.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — The breast, line over the eye, and at the lower 
angle of the bill, yellow ; chin white; throat with a black patch ; 
above, chiefly dull ferruginous varied with blackish. — Female with 
little or no black on the breast, nor yellow over the eye. 


Tuese birds arrive in Pennsylvania and New England, 
from the South, about the middle of May, and abound in 
the vicinity of Philadelphia, where they seem to prefer level 
fields, building their nests on the ground, chiefly of fine 
withered grass. ‘The eggs are 5 and white, with specks 
and lines of dark brown or blackish. ‘They also inhabit 
the prairies of Missouri, the state of New York, the remote 
northern regions of Hudson’s Bay, and are not uncommon 
in this part of New England, dwelling here, however, 
almost exclusively in the high, fresh meadows near the salt 
marshes. ‘Their song, simple and monotonous, according 
to Wilson, consists only of five notes, or rather two; the 
first being repeated twice and slowly, the second thrice and 


§28 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


rapidly, resembling tshsp tship, tshe tshe tshé;* with us 
their call is ’tic ’tic—tshé tshé tshé tship, and tship tship, 
tshe tshé tshé tship. From their arrival nearly to their de- 
parture, or for two or three months, this note is perpetually 
heard from every level field of grain or grass; both sexes 
also often mount to the top of some low tree of the orchard 
or meadow, and there continue to cherup forth in unison 
their simple ditty for an hour at atime. While thus en- 
gaged, they may be nearly approached without exhibiting 
any appearance of alarm or suspicion, and though the 
species appears to be numerous, they live in harmony, and 
rarely display any hostility to the birds around them, or 
amongst each other. In August they become mute, and 
about the beginning of September depart for the South, 
wintering as well as breeding in Texas and other parts of 
Mexico, but are not seen in the Southern States at any 
period of the winter. Their food consists of seeds, eggs 
of insects, and gravel, and in the early part of summer, 
they subsist much upon caterpillars and small coleop- 
terous insects; they are, also, one among the many usual 
destroyers of the ruinous canker-worm. 


This species is about 6 inches in length. The upper part of the 
head is of a dusky greenish-yellow; the neck dark ash; inside 
shoulders of the wing yellow. Wings dusky brown, edged with 
paler; lesser coverts and whole shoulder of the wing bright bay. 
Belly and vent dull white. Bull bluish, dusky above. Legs and feet 
light brown. Iris hazel. 


TOWNSEND’S BUNTING. 


(Emberiza Townsendii, Aup. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 183. pl. 400. Euspiza 
Townsendii, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 32.) 


* This note, I believe, more properly belongs to the Grass Finch. 


SNOW LARK BUNTING. 529 


Spec. Coaract.— Throat and narrow line over the eye white ; head, 
throat and sides bluish-grey ; above yellowish-brown, streaked with 
dusky ; a narrow band of black on each side the throat. 


Tis very rare species, of which only a single specimen 
has been obtained near West Chester, in Pennsylvania, 
was shot by Mr. Townsend, and nothing is yet known of 
its habits. It appears to be nearly allied to the preceding, 
but can scarcely be a mere variety, as the markings are so 
very distinct. 


Length 53 inches ; alar extent 9. Bill very stout, the outline very 
convex. Head, cheeks, hind neck, sides of the same, fore part of the 
breast, and sides of the body, deep bluish-grey, the head streaked 
with black ; back yellowish-brown, streaked with dusky, the feathers 
edged with grey, rump yellowish-grey ; quills and tail-feathers wood 
brown ; a narrow white line over the eye ; throat white, with a nar- 
row band of black on each side; abdomen and middle part of the 
breast greyish-white. 


PLECTROPHANES. (Bonar.) LARK BUNTING. 


In these the hind nail is long and sometimes almost straight. The 
tubercle of the palate, not very conspicuous. First and second pri- 
maries longest. Though they moult only annually, the plumage as- 
sumes a difference from age and exposure, as the tips of the feathers 
wear away. They live in open countries, plains, and mountains, in 
desert regions, and never seek the shelter of the thicket or the forest ; 
they likewise, in common with Larks, which they resemble in habits, 
and the length of the hind nail, run with rapidity. 


SNOW LARK BUNTING. 


(Plectrophanes nivalis, Bonar. Emberiza nivalis, Lin. Witson, iii. 
p. 36. pl. 2 1. fig. 2. [female in winter dress]. Aun. pl. 189. Orn, 
Biog. il. p. 515. Pbil. Museum, No, 6900.) 


Spec. Craract. — Quills white on the lower part, black upwards; tail 
black, the 3 lateral feathers white, tipt with blackish; hind nail 


45 


5380 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


rather short and curved. — Male in full dress, with the head, neck, 
and beneath white.—In the female, young, and male in winter 
dress, the white parts are tinged with rufous. 


Tis messenger of cold and stormy weather chiefly in- 
habits the higher regions of the arctic circle, from whence, 
as the severity of the winter threatens, they migrate, in- 
differently over Europe, Eastern Asia, and the United 
States. On their way to the South, they appear round 
Hludson’s Bay in September, and stay till the frosts of No- 
vember again oblige them to seek out warmer quarters. 
Early in December, they make their descent into the 
Northern States in whirling roving flocks, either immedi- 
ately before, or soon after, an inundating fall of snow. 
Amidst the drifts, and as they accumulate with the blast, 
flocks of these allwars fogel, or bad weather birds of the 
Swedes, like the spirits of the storm, are to be seen flitting 
about in restless and hungry troops, at times resting on 
the wooden fences, though but for an instant, as, like the 
congenial ‘Tartar hordes of their natal regions, they ap- 
pear now to have no other object in view, but an escape 
from famine, and to carry on a general system of forage 
while they happen to stay in the vicinity. At times, press- 
ed by hunger, they alight near the door of the cottage, and 
approach the barn, or even venture into the out-houses in 
quest of dormant insects, seeds, or crumbs wherewith to 
allay their hunger; they are still, however, generally plump 
and fat, and in some countries much esteemed for the 
table. In fine weather they appear less restless, somewhat 
more familiar, and occasionally, even at this season, they 
chant out a few unconnected notes as they survey the hap- 
pier face of nature. At the period of incubation they are 
said to sing agreeably, but appear to seek out the most 
desolate regions of the cheerless north in which to waste 
the sweetness of their melody, unheard by any ear but 


SNOW BUNTING. 531 


that of their mates. In the dreary wastes of Greenland, 
the naked Lapland Alps, and the scarcely habitable Spitz- 
bergen, bound with eternal ice, they pass the season of re- 
production, seeking out the fissures of rocks on the 
mountains in which to fix their nests, about the month of 
May or June. The exterior of this fabric is made of dry 
grass, with feathers, and the lining is usually obtained from 
the scattered down of the Arctic Fox. The eggs are said 
to be 5, obtuse, whitish, marked with numerous spots of 
brown and grey. A few are known to breed in the alpine 
declivities of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 
The nest is here fixed on the ground in the shelter of low 
bushes, and formed nearly of the same materials as that of 
the Common Song Sparrow.* 

In Europe these birds sometimes migrate in winter in 
such numbers into Sweden, Siberia, Russia, and the Scot- 
tish Highlands, as nearly to cover the country for a great 
extent. They are less numerous in Britain, and chiefly 
remain in the north; they also visit Germany, Holland, 
France, and some parts of Italy. At times they proceed 
as far south in the United States as the state of Maryland. 
They are here generally known by the name of the White 
Snow-bird, to distinguish them from the more common 
dark-bluish Sparrow, so called. ‘They vary in their color, 
according to age and season, and have always a great pre- 
dominance of white in their plumage. 

The Snow-Buntings are seen in spring to assemble in 
Norway and its islands in great numbers; and, after a stay 
of about three weeks, they disappear for the season, and 
migrate across the arctic ocean to the farthest known land. 


* For this interesting information, I am indebted to Wright Boott, Esq., who ac- 
cidentally found a nest of this species, about the middle of July (1831), then con- 
taining young. 


532 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


On their return in winter to the Scottish Highlands their 
flocks are said to be immense, mingling, by an aggregating 
close flight, almost into the form of a ball, so as to present 
avery fatal and successful mark for the fowler. They 
arrive lean, but soon become fat; in Austria they are 
caught in snares or traps, and, when fed with millet, be- 
come equal to the Ortolan in value and flavor. When 
caged, they show a very wakeful disposition, instantly hop- 
ping about in the night when a light is produced. Indul- 
gence in this constant train of action, and perpetual watch- 
fulness may perhaps have its influence on this species, 
in the selection of their breeding places within the arctic 
regions, where, for months, they continue to enjoy a per- 
petual day. 

The food of these birds consists of various kinds of 
seeds, and the larve of insects and minute shell-fish; the 
seeds of aquatic plants are also sometimes sought by them, 
and I have found in their stomachs those of the Ruppia, 
species of Polygonum, and gravel. In a state of confine- 
ment they shell and eat oats, millet, hemp-seed, and green 
peas, which they split. They rarely perch, and, like Larks, 
live much on the ground. 

This harbinger of winter breeds in the northernmost of 
the American islands and on all the shores of the continent 
from Chesterfield Inlet to Behring’s Straights. The most 
southerly of its breeding stations in America, according to 
Richardson, is Southampton Island in the 62d parallel, 
where Capt. Lyons found a nest, by a strange fatality, plac- 
ed in the bosom of the exposed corpse of an Esquimaux 
child. It is composed of dry grass, and usually lined with 
deer’s hair, and a few feathers, and is commonly fixed in 
the crevice of a rock, or in the accidental and rude shel- 
ter of loose stones or fallen timber. The eggs are green- 
ish-white, with a circle of irregular umber brown spots 


SNOW BUNTING. 533 


round the larger end, and blended with numerous blotches 
of pale lavender purple. Well clothed, and hardy by na- 
ture, the Snow-Bunting even lingers about the forts of the 
fur countries and open places, picking up grass seeds, un- 
til the snow becomes deep; it is only during the months 
of December and January that it retires to the southward 
of Saskatchewan; and it is seen again there on its return 
as early as the middle of February; two months after 
which it arrives in the 65th parallel, and by the beginning 
of May it has penetrated to the coast of the Polar sea. 
At this period it feeds upon the buds of the purple Saxi- 
frage (Saxifraga oppositifolia,) one of the most early of 
the arctic plants. 

As the Snow Bunting sometimes begins to visit the 
United States in October, it appears pretty certain that some 
of these birds breed, almost, if not quite within the north- 
ern limits of the Union. And as stated elsewhere, a nest 
has been found near the rocky summit of the White 
Mountains of New Hampshire. 


The Snow-Bunting is about 74 inches in length. The old male in 
summer dress has the head, neck, and all the lower parts, as well as 
the lesser wing-coverts, and the inferior half of the quills of a pure 
white. Upper part of the back, the 3 secondary feathers of the 
wings nearest to the body, the bastard wing, and the upper half 
of the quills, black. The 3 lateral feathers of the tail white, with 
black marks towards their ends, the 4th white on the upper part of 
the outer vane ; the other tail-feathers black. Bill yellow, blackish 
towards the point. Feet and claws black. Iris deep brown. — In the 
female all the white of the head, neck, and the region of the ears, 
shaded with chesnut-brown inclining to tawny ; a sort of half collar 
on the breast of the same color. The black feathers of the back and 
the secondaries nearest to the body are all terminated with rufous- 
white ; the quills and middle tail-feathers are edged and terminated 
with whitish ; the rest of the plumage is as in the male. 

Winter plumage ; the adult male in autumn is clad in the livery of 
the female. All the black feathers of the back, the wings, and the 


45* 


534 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


tail, have then a wide border of ferruginous-grey ; the head, neck, 
temples, and the breast are stained with light rusty ; upon the rump 
and tail-coverts are spread some touches of brown and rufous. The 
greater part of the rufous and reddish-cinereous tints at length dis- 
appear by the action of the air, and by the wearing of the ends of the 
feathers, so that the male by spring appears such as he is described 
above. 

The young of the year, such as they appear when emigrating in 
autumn, have the crown the color of cinnamon, the auriculars, throat, 
and wide collar on the breast of a deep rufous, the flanks the same 
but paler; the eyebrows and fore part of the neck of a whitish cine- 
reous; back of the neck greyish-rufous; the black feathers above 
are deeply bordered with dark-rufous; only the middle of the wing 
and its lower parts of a pure white ; the quills and middle tail-feathers 
bordered with pale rufous; the three lateral tail-feathers have each 
a large black spot. The bill yellowish. — It varies sometimes to pure 
white, yellowish white, or with the plumage irregularly marked with 
brown and black. 


LAPLAND LARK BUNTING. 


(Plectrophanes lapponica, Meyer. Emberiza lapponica, Nitsson. 
Bonar. Am. Orn. ii. p.1. pl. 13. fig. 1. [male.] fig. 2. [young female.] 
Auvp. Orn. Biog. 4. p. 472. pl. 365.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Quills black; two outer tail-feathers brownish- 
black, with a white spot at tip; hind nail very long, straight. — 


5? 


Adult male, head and breast black; beneath white; neck above 
bright rufous. — Male in winter, female and young, blackish skirt- 
ed with rufous, beneath white. 


Tis species generally inhabits the desolate arctic re- 
gions of both continents. In the United States a few 
stragglers from the greater body show themselves in winter 
in the remote and unsettled parts of Maine, Michigan, and 
the North-Western Territory. Large flocks also at times 
enter the Union, and contrary to their usual practice of 
resting and living wholly on the ground, occasionally alight 
on trees. In Europe, at the commencement of the in- 


LAPLAND LARK BUNTING. 535 


clement season, they penetrate into Germany, France, 
England and Switzerland, but in all these countries the old 
birds are never seen. Flocks like clouds descend some- 
times into the north and middle of Germany in the fall and 
winter, and rarely in the spring. They leave the colder 
arctic deserts, in the autumn, and are found around Hud- 
son’s Bay on their way to the south in winter, not making 
their appearance there before November. Near Severn 
river they haunt the cedar trees, upon whose berries they 
now principally feed. They live in large flocks, and are 
so gregarious that when separated from their own species, 
or in small parties, they usually, in Europe, associate with 
the Common Larks, or, in America, they join the roving 
bands of Snow-birds. In the fur countries they extend 
their migrations in the spring as far as the 65th parallel, 
where they were seen about Fort Franklin by the begin- 
ning of May; at this time they fed much upon the seeds 
of the Alpine Arbutus. ‘They feed principally on seeds, 
and also on grass, leaves, buds and insects. They breed 
on small hillocks, among moss and stones, in open marshy 
fields, and the nest is thickly and loosely constructed of 
moss and grass, and lined with a few feathers and deer’s 
hair. The eggs are 5 or 6, yellowish rusty, spotted with 
brown. The Longspur, like the Lark, sings only as it 
rises in the air, in which, suspended aloft, it utters a few 
agreeable and melodious notes. 


The male of this species is about 7 inches long, and 12 in alar ex 
tent. Bill yellow, dark at the point. Iris haze], and the feet dusky, 
The fore part of the neck, throat, and breast are black, the hind-head 
bright reddish-rusty ; a white line runs from the base of the bill to 
the eye, behind which it widens and descends on the sides of the neck 
somewhat round the breast. Belly and vent white. Back and scap- 
ulars brownish-black, the feathers skirted with rusty; smaller wing- 
coverts blackish, margined with white, the greater coverts edged 
with rufous and tipped with white, forming 2 white bands across the 


536 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


wings. Tail 24 inches, rather forked, and blackish, the outer feather 
on each side with a white spot. Hind nail nearly an inch long. — 
Female a little smaller, with the top of the head, shoulders, back, and 
wing coverts brownish-black, edged with rusty; sides of the head 
blackish and rusty. Line over the eye tinged with rusty ; throat 
white, encircled with brown; the rest, below white. —The dress of 
the young and autumnal birds vary more or less. 


PAINTED LARK BUNTING. 


(Plectrophanes picta, Swatns. North. Zool. ii. p. 250. t.49. Avp. 
Orn. Biog. 5. p. 91. pl. 400.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— With the head black; aline passing over the 
eye, a small spot on the nape, another on the ears, and a large 
patch on the wing white; collar and the whole under plumage 
buff-yellow. 


Tas beautifully marked species was observed associating 
with the Lapland Buntings or Long-Spurs, on the banks of 
the Saskatchewan, in the month of April, but no informa- 
tion was obtained respecting its breeding quarters. 


Length 6 inches 3 lines ; tail 24 inches; the bill above, 53 inches ; 
the tarsus 10 lines. Head and sides velvet-black. Three strongly 
marked pure white stripes on the sides of the head, one bordering 
the chin, another on the ear, and a third above the eye; a less dis- 
tinct spot on the middle of the nape. Neck above wood-brown; the 
back, and lower rows of wing coverts blackish-brown, broadly edged 
with paler brown; the intermediate coverts pure white, and the upper 
ones entirely black. Quills and tail brownish-black, with narrow 
white edges ; the 2 outer pairs of tail feathers white, with their outer 
tips and inner edges brown. Below of an intermediate color between 
wood-brown and buff-orange. Inner wing coverts white. Bull black- 
ish-brown, pale at the base beneath. Legs brown. The tail exceeds 
the tips of the closed wings an inch. 


BROWN COLLARED LARK BUNTING. bow 


BROWN COLLARED LARK BUNTING. 
(Plectrophanes ornatus, Towns. Avp. pl. 394. Biog. 5. p. 44.) 


Spec. Coaract.— Grey and spotted; beneath, except the vent and 
throat, black; a bright rufous belt over the neck; line over the 
eye, and the two lateral tail-feathers on either side nearly white. 


WE met with this elegant species early in May, on the 
wide grassy plains of the Platte, soon after arriving at that 
stream. ‘They were now paired, probably for the season, 
were rather shy, and kept wholly on the ground. We 
heard it utter no note more than a chirp, as they kept 
busily foraging for subsistence. 

Length 54 inches. Wing from the flexure 3 and two twelfths; 
hind claw nearly half an inch long. Bill yellowish, dusky at tip. 
Legs and feet yellowish flesh-color. Above yellowish-grey with dusky 
spots; upper part of the head, a streak, and some spots behind the 
ear, with the breast, black; a broad band over the eye, the throat 
and sides of the neck, the abdomen, lower tail coverts, and three lat- 
eral tail feathers, white, the latter edged with dusky. <A broad trans- 
verse yellowish red or rufous band on the hind neck. 


TANAGRA. (Lin.) TANAGRAS. 


In these the Bitt is short, robust, hard, in the form of 
a flattened cone and somewhat depressed at the base; the 
upper mandible bluntly keeled, curved and notched near 
the tip, longer, wider, and projecting over the lower; the 
inferior mandible inflected at the edges. Nosrrits basal, 
rounded, open, partly covered by the feathers of the front- 
let. ‘Toneue short, sharp, and cleft at tip. Tarsus 
rather longer than the middle toe; inner toe united at 
base to the middle one; hind toe-nail largest. — Wines of 
moderate dimensions ; the first 3 primaries nearly of equal 


538 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


length and longest.— The female and youug differ much 
from the male in complete plumage, which is subject to 
great changes, according to the season. The moult is 
half-yearly, and the general colors of the species peculiarly 
brilliant. 


These are active, but not very cautious birds, leading a solitary 
life, or roving about only in families, and frequenting shady and 
recluse woods. They are sudden and capricious in their movements, 
seldom alighting on the ground, flying briskly, and progressing by 
hops. Their voice is sometimes rather musical, though not gener- 
ally agreeable. They build in trees; feed indifferently on seeds, 
berries, and insects, which last they seize on the wing, or collect in- 
dustriously from the branches of trees. — They are peculiar to Ameri- 
ca, and chiefly tropical. 


Subgenus. — Pyranea. 


The upper mandible with an obtuse tooth on either side near 
the middle. 


SCARLET TANAGER or BLACK-WINGED 
SUMMER RED-BIRD. 


(Tanagra rubra, Lin. Witsoy, ii. p. 42. pl. 11. fig. 3 [male] and 
fig. 4. [female]. Aup. Orn. Biog. 4. ii. 388. pl. 354. Phil. Museum, 
No. 6128.) 


Spec, Cuaract.— Scarlet-red; wings and emarginate tail black ; the 
base of the plumage ash, then white.— Female, young, and au- 
tumnal male, dull green, in the latter inclining to yellow; beneath 
yellow; wings and tail dusky. 


Tuts splendid and transient resident, accompanying 
fine weather in all his wanderings, arrives from his win- 
ter station in tropical America, from the beginning to 
the middle of May, and extends his migrations probably 
to Nova Scotia as well as Canada. With the shy, unso- 


SCARLET TANAGER. 539 


cial and suspicious habits of his gaudy fraternity, he 
takes up his abode in the deepest recess of the forest, 
where timidly flitting from observation, he darts from tree 
to tree like a flashing meteor. A gaudy sylph, conscious 
of his brilliance, and the exposure to which it subjects 
him, he seems to avoid remark, and is only solicitous to 
be known to his humbie mate, and hid from all besides. 
He therefore rarely approaches the habitations of men, 
unless perhaps the skirts of the orchard, where he some- 
times however, builds his nest, and takes a taste of the 
early and inviting, though forbidden cherries. 

Among the thick foliage of the tree in which he seeks 
support and shelter, from the lofty branches, at times, we 
hear his almost monotonous ftship witee, tshtp-vdee, or 
tshukadee, tshukadee repeated at short intervals, and in a 
pensive under-tone, heightened by the solitude in which 
he delights to dwell. The same note is also uttered, by 
the female when the retreat of herself and young is ap- 
proached ; and the male occasionally utters in recogni- 
tion to his mate, as they perambulate the branches, a low 
whispering ’¢azt in a tone of caution and tenderness. But, 
besides these calls on the female, he has also during the 
period of incubation, and for a considerable time after, a 
more musical strain, resembling somewhat in the mellow- 
ness of its tones the song of the fifing Baltimore. The syl- 
lables to which I have hearkened, appear like ’tshoove 
‘wait wait ’vehowit wait, and wait, ’vehowit vea wait, with 
other additions of lrarmony for which no words are ade- 
quate. ‘This pleasing and highly musical meandering 
ditty is delivered for hours, in a contemplative mood, in 
the same tree with his busy consort. If surprised, they flit 
together, but soon return to their favorite station in the 
spreading boughs of the shady oak or hickory. This song 
has some resemblance to that of the Red-eyed Vireo in its 


540 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS, 


compass and strain, though much superior, the ’wait wait 
being whistled very sweetly in several tones, and with em- 
phasis, so that, upon the whole, our Pyranga may be con- 
sidered as duly entitled to various excellence, being harm- 
less to the farmer, brilliant in plumage, and harmonious in 
voice. 

The nest of this beautiful bird is built about the middle 
of May, on the horizontal branch of a shady forest tree, 
commonly an oak, though sometimes in a tree in the or- 
chard. It is but slightly put together, and usually com- 
posed of broken rigid stalks of dry weeds, or slender fir 
twigs, loosely interlaced together, and partly tied with 
narrow strips of Indian hemp (Apocynum), some slender 
grass leaves, and pea-vine runners (Amphicarpa), or other 
frail materials; the interior is sometimes lined with the 
slender, wiry, brown stalks of the Canadian cistus (Heli- 
anthemum) ; or with slender pine leaves; and the whole of 
the substances is so thinly platted, as readily to admit the 
light through their interstices, thus forming a very clean 
and airy bed for the brood, well suited for the mildness 
and warmth of the season in which they are produced. 
The eggs, 3 or 4, are of a dull blue, spotted with two or 
three shades of brown or purple most numerous towards 
the larger end. They only sojourn long enough to rear their 
single brood, which are here fledged early in July, leaving us 
already for the South about the middle or close of August, 
or as soon as the young are well able to endure the fatigue 
of an extensive migration in company with their parents. 
The female shows great solicitude for the safety of her only 
brood, and on an approach to the nest appears to be in great 
distress and apprehension. When they are released from 
her more immediate protection, the male, at first cautious 
and distant, now attends and feeds them with activity, being 
altogether indifferent to that concealment which his gaudy 


SCARLET TANAGER. 541 


dress seems to require, from his natural enemies. So 
attached to his now interesting brood is the Scarlet Tana- 
ger, that he has been known, at all hazards, to follow for 
half a mile one of his young, submitting to feed it atten- 
tively through the bars of a cage, and, with a devotion which 
despair could not damp, roost by it in the branches of the 
same tree with its prison; so strong, indeed, is this innate 
and heroic feeling, that life itself is less cherished than the 
desire of aiding and supporting his endearing progeny.* 

The food of the Scarlet Tanager, while with us, con- 
sists chiefly of winged insects, wasps, hornets, and wild 
bees, as well as smaller kinds of beetles and other shelly 
tribes ; they probably also sometimes feed on seeds, and 
are particularly partial to whortleberries, and other kinds 
which the season affords. 

About the commencement of August the male begins 
to moult, and then exchanges his nuptial scarlet for the 
greenish yellow livery of the female. At this period they 
leave us, and having passed the winter in the celibacy 
indicated by this humble garb, they arrive again among us 
on its vernal renewal, and so soon after this change, that 
individuals are at this time occasionally seen with the 
speckled livery of early autumn, or with a confused mix- 
ture of green and scarlet feathers in scattered patches. 


The length of this species is about 64 inches; and 103 in alar di- 
mensions. The plumage of the male is of a brilliant scarlet, except 
the wings and tail, which are black. The tail is forked, and some- 
times minutely tipt with white; the inner edges of the quills are also 
nearly white. Bill yellowish horn-color. Legs and feet bluish-grey, 
Iris cream-color. — The female is more green above than the autum- 
nal male. 


* Wixson, ii. p. 43. 


46 


542 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


SUMMER RED-BIRD. 


(Tanagra estiva, Gm. Witson, i. p. 95. pl. 6. fig. 3. [male], and fig. 4. 
[female]. Aupvuson, pl. 44. Orn. Biog. 1. p. 232. Phil. Museum, 
No. 1634.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Vermilion-red; inner vanes and tips of the quills 
tinged with brown; the tail even. — Young and autumnal male, 
yellow-olive, below brownish-yellow ; the moulting young spotted 
with buff. 


Tuts brilliant and transient resident, like the former 
species, passes the greatest part of the year in tropical 
America, from whence in his gaudy nuptial suit, he pre- 
sents himself with his humble mate in the Southern States 
in the latter end of April or by the first of May. In Penn- 
sylvania they are but rarely seen, though in the warm and 
sandy barren forests of New Jersey several pairs may usu- 
ally be observed in the course of every season ; farther north 
they are unknown, ceding those regions apparently to the 
scarlet species. They are not confined to any particular 
soil, though often met with in bushy, barren tracts, and 
are consequently common even to the west of the Missis- 
sippi in Louisiana and the territory of Arkansas, as well 
as Mexico; they also breed near the banks of that river 
around Natchez. 

The nest is built in the woods on the low horizontal 
branch of a tree, often in an evergreen 10 or 12 feet from 
the ground; like that of the former, it is slightly put to- 
gether, and made of broken, tough, and fibrous weeds, and 
lined with fine grass. The eggs are from 3 to 5, and of a 
light blue color. Both parents assist in incubation, and 
the young are fledged by the middle or latter end of June. 
They only raise a single brood in the season ; and towards 
the middle or close of August, the whole party disappear 
on their way to the South; though the young remain later 
than the old and more restless birds. 


LOUISIANA TANAGER. 543 


The note of the male, like that of the Baltimore Bird, 
is said to be a strong and sonorous whistle, resembling the 
trill or musical shake on the fife, and is frequently repeated. 
The note of the female is more of a chattering, and appears 
almost like the rapid pronunciation of tshicky-tukky-tuk, 
tshicky-tukky-tuk, and is chiefly uttered in alarm when any 
person approaches the vicinity of her nest. From the 
similarity of her color to the foliage of the trees, she is, 
however, rarely seen, and usually mute; while the loquacity 
and brilliance of the male render him, as he flits timidly 
and wildly through the branches, a most distinguished and 
beautiful object. 

The food of the Summer Red-Bird is very similar to 
that of the preceding species; bugs, beetles, and stinging 
bees make part of his repast, as well as flies and cynips of 
various kinds, after which they often dart about until hin- 
dered by the approach of night. This habit, however, is 
probably necessary from the almost nocturnal manners of 
some of these insect tribes. After the period of incuba- 
tion, and until their departure, whortleberries and other 
kinds of berries form no inconsiderable part of their food. 


The male of this species is 74 inches, the alar extent about 12. He 
is of a rich vermilion color, most brilliant below, except the inner 
vanes and tips of the wings, which are tinged with brown. The legs 
and feet are pale greyish-blue, inclining to purple. The iris light 
hazel.—'The Female is above of « brownish yellow-olive, below 
brownish-yellow. Other specimens of the female have been seen 
nearly as red as the males. 


LOUISIANA TANAGER. 
(Tanagra ludoviciana, Wixson, iii. p. 27. pl. 20. fig. 1. Aup. Orn. 
Biog. 4. p. 385. pl. 354. Phil. Museum, No. 6236.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Yellow; anterior part of the head orange-scarlet ; 
back, wings and tail black ; wings with 2 yellow bands. 


544 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Ts species was first made known by the exploring 
party of Lewis and Clark. It is a frequent inhabitant of 
the extensive prairies or grassy plains of Upper Missouri, 
and is seen occasionally as low as the cantonment of 
Major Long, or but a little beyond the line of settlements. 
They are continually flitting over these vast downs, oc- 
casionally alighting upon the stems of tall weeds, or the 
bushes which border only the streams, and in which, as 
well as in the grass, they build their nests. From their 
almost terrestrial habits, it is evident they must derive 
their food chiefly from the insects they find near, or on 
the ground, as well as from the seeds of the herbage in 
which they principally dwell; they also probably feed 
on the grasshoppers with which these plains abound ; 
and are upon the whole a common and numerous species 
west of the Mississippi, remaining in that country near- 
ly until the approach of October. For amusement, they 
are frequently shot with bow and arrows by the Indian 
boys, in defect of more important game. Though I have 
seen many of these birds throughout the season, I have 
no recollection of hearing them utter any modulated or 
musical sounds; and they appeared to me like Sparrows, 
shy, flitting, and almost silent. We first observed this 
fine bird, in a thick belt of wood, near Larimie’s Fork 
of the Platte, on the 4th of June, at a considerable dis- 
tance to the east of the first chain, of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, (or Black Hills), so that the species in all probabil- 
ity, continues some distance down the Platte. We have 
also seen them very abundant, in the spring, in the forests, 
of the Columbia, below Fort Vancouver. On the Platte, 
they appeared shy and almost silent, not having there 
apparently commenced breeding. About the middle of 
May, we observed the males, in smal] numbers, scattered 
through the dark pine forests of the Columbia, restless, 


FINCHES 545 


shy, and flitting when approached, but at length more se- 
dentary when mated. We frequently traced them out by 
their song, which is a loud, short, slow, but pleasing war- 
ble, not very unlike, that of the common Robin, delivered 
from the tops of the lofty fir trees. This music continues 
at short intervals throughout the whole forenoon, during 
which our songster, is busily engaged in quest of such 
coleopterous insects, and larve, as are to be found on the 
young branches of the trees he frequents, and which 
require an assiduous and long-continued search to gratify 
his wants. Of the female, and nest we are still ignorant, 
though they are in all probability very similar to those of 
our known species. We have not seen this bird as far 
south as Upper California, though it may exist in the 
thicker forests remote from the coast, which we had no 
opportunity of visiting. 


The length of this bird is about 6} inches. Bill yellowish horn- 
color. Legs greyish-blue. Tail slightly forked, and edged with dull 
whitish.— The female or young bird had the wings and back brown- 


ish. 


FRINGILLA. (Lin.) FINCHES. 


In these birds the sit is short, robust, conic on all sides, and 
generally without notch; upper mandible wider than the lower, 
somewhat turgid, and a little inclined at tip; without keel, depress- 
ed at the upper part, and often prolonged into an angle entering the 
feathers of the forehead, Nosrrits basal, rounded, covered by the 
feathers of the frontlet. TonGur thick, acute, compressed, and bifid 
at tip. eet, tarsus shorter than the middle toe ; toes disconnected 
to the base ; hind nail largest.— Wings short; Ist and 2d primaries 
but little shorter than the 3d or 4th, which is longest. 

The male differs from the female principally in the breeding sea- 
son. The young in the 2d season resemble the adult; and the Eu- 
ropean and North American species generally moult only once in 


46* 


546 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the year; those of warmer climates usually undergo a double 
moult. 

These birds live on all sorts of seeds and grain, which they shell 
before swallowing ; at times they also add insects to their fare; they 
inhabit all parts of the world, and are particularly numerous in the 
warmer regions; they are prolific, raising several broods in the sea- 
son, and display often considerable art in the fabrication of their nests, 
which are usually built in trees and bushes. They flock together in 
considerable numbers, and migrate in bands; live in woods and 
thickets, and are familiar often in gardens and orchards ; many alight 
also on the ground, in quest of their multifarious, but principally veg- 
etable food. Of all the winged tribes, after Pigeons and Gallinace- 
ous birds, these are the most easily accustomed to the domestic state, 
and many are esteemed for the vigorous music of their song, which 
is often a loud and fifing trill; some of them have likewise been 
taught to perform a variety of actions evincing an extraordinary de- 
gree of docility.* The North American species were divided into 4 
subgenera by Prince C. Bonaparte, which all, at the same time, pass 
insensibly into each other. 


Subgenus.— Spiza. (Bonap.) 
With the edges of the lower mandible narrowed in. 


t Species allied to Tanagra. With the bill somewhat curved. 


LAZULI FINCH. 


(Fringilla amena, Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 61. fig. 5. Avp. Orn. Biog. 
v. p. 64. pl. 398. 424. fig. 3. Emberiza amena, Say. Phil. Mus- 
eum, No. 5919.) 


Sp. Cuaract. — Verdigris-blue ; beneath white ; breast pale reddish 
ferruginous ; wings with 2 white bars ; the bill notched. — Female, 
above pale greyish-brown, pale blue towards the tail; breast paler ; 
the bar on the wing narrower. 


For the first notice of this beautiful species, allied to the 
Indigo Bird, we are indebted to Mr. Say, who met with it 


* For an account of which see the Introduction, pp. 21, 22. 


INDIGO BIRD. 547 


in Long’s expedition. It was observed, though rarely in 
the summer months, along the banks of the Arkansas, near 
to the base of the Rocky Mountains, frequenting the bushy 
valleys, keeping much in the grass after its food, and but 
seldom alighting on trees or shrubs. 

This species is common in the Oregon Territory from 
the base of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, and has 
most of the habits of the Yellow Bird (Fringilla tristis). 
Its song is very similar, being a lively and melodious warble. 
It keeps much in low bushes and high weeds; is shy, flit- 
ting off rapidly when approached, in the manner of the 
Indigo Bird. The only nest I was able to find was fixed in 
the forks of the stem of a stout Fern (Pteris aquilina ?) 
round which it was fastened ; it is funnel-shaped, 6 inches in 
depth, and 3 inches in breadth. Internally its diameter is 
2 inches at the mouth and its depth only 3. It was composed 
of lichens ( Usnea) moss (JTypna), decayed leaves and grass, 
coarse and rudely interwoven, lined with fine grass and a 
few horse hairs. It nests, according to Mr. Townsend, 
usually in the Willows along the borders of streams. 


The length of this Finch is 5% inches. Head, neck, and rump 
bright verdigris-blue ; the back brownish-black, mixed with blue and 
with touches of rusty-brown. Superior part of the breast pale ferru- 
ginous, inclining to rose-red ; lower part of the breast, belly, and infe- 
rior tail-coverts white ; quills blackish, obscurely margined with blue 
externally ; under wing-coverts whitish with some mixture of blue. 
Tail slightly notched, blackish, edged with blue on the outer vanes, 
and with white on the inner webs at tip. 


INDIGO BIRD. 


(Fringilla cyanea, Witson, i. p. 100. pl. 6. fig. 5. [male]. Bonap. ii. 
pl. 11. fig. 3. [female]. Avupuson, pl. 74. Orn. Biog. i. p. 277. 
Phil. Museum, No, 6002.) 


548 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Sp. Cuaract. — Bright blue with a green reflection ; wings and tail 
dusky, the latter edged with blue.— Female brownish flaxen, be- 
neath pale yellowish-white.— Young and autumnal male, as the 
female, but more tinged with bluish. 

Tuis very beautiful and rather familiar messenger of 
summer, after passing the winter in tropical America, 
towards the 15th of May, decked in his brilliant azure 
livery, of the nuptial season, again joyfully visits his natal 
regions, in the Middle States; and about a week or ten 
days later his lively trill in the garden, orchard, or on the 
top of the house, its chimney, or vane, is first heard in this 
part of New England. Still later, accompanied by his 
mate, he passes on to Nova Scotia, and probably to the 
precincts of Labrador. After raising and training their 
only brood, in an uniform and more humble dress, the whole 
family, in color like so many common Sparrows, begin to 
retire to the South from the first to the middle of September. 
They are also known in Mexico, where, as well as in the 
Southern States to the peninsula of Florida, they breed and 
pass the summer as with us. There is reason, however, to 
believe that they are less abundant, if seen at all, to the 
west of the Mississippi; but yet they are met with in the 
Western States up to the alluvial lands of that great natural 
boundary. 

Their food in the early part of the season, as well as that 
of their young for a considerable time, is chiefly insects, 
worms, and caterpillars, as well as grasshoppers, of which 
they are particularly fond. They likewise eat seeds of 
various kinds, and are readily reared in a cage on the usual 
diet of the Canary. 

Though naturally shy, active, and suspicious, particularly 
the brilliant male, they still, at this interesting period of 
procreation, resort chiefly to the precincts of habitations, 
around which they are far more common than in the solitary 
woods, seeking their borders, or the thickets by the sides 


INDIGO BIRD. 549 


of the road; but their favorite resort is the garden, where, 
from the topmost bough of some tall tree, which commands 
the whole wide landscape, the male regularly pours out his 
lively chant, and continues it for a considerable length of 
time. Nor is this song confined to the cool and animating 
dawn of morning, but it is renewed and still more vigorous 
during the noon-day heat of summer. This lively strain 
seems composed of a repetition of short notes, commencing 
loud and rapid, and then, slowly falling, they descend almost 
to a whisper, succeeded by a silent interval of about half a 
minute, when the song is again continued as before. ‘The 
most common of these vocal expressions sounds like she 
tshe tshe —tshé tshéé tshéé —tshé tshé tshe. 'The middle 
syllables are uttered lispingly in a very peculiar manner, 
and the three last gradually fall ; sometimes it is varied and 
shortened into ¢shea tshea tshea tshreéh, the last sound being 
sometimes doubled. This shorter song is usually uttered 
at the time that the female is engaged in the cares of in- 
cubation, or as the brood already appear, and when too 
great a display of his music might endanger the retiring 
security of his family. From a young or imperfectly moulted 
male, on the summit of a weeping willow, I heard the fol- 
lowing singularly lively syllables, ’éle ’tle ’tle ta lee, repeated 
at short intervals. While thus prominently exposed to view, 
the little airy minstrel is continually on the watch against 
any surprise, and if he be steadily looked at or hearkened 
to with visible attention, in the next instant he is off to seek 
out some securer elevation. In the village of Cambridge, 
I have seen one of these azure, almost celestial musicians, 
regularly chant to the inmates of a tall dwelling-house from 
the summit of the chimney, or the point of the forked 
lightning-rod. I have also heard a Canary, within hearing, 
repeat and imitate the slowly lisping trill of the Indigo Bird, 
whose warble indeed, often greatly resembles that of this 


550 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


species. The female, before hatching her brood, is but 
seldom seen, and is then scarcely distinguishable from a 
common Sparrow ; nor is she ever to be observed beyond 
the humble bushes and weeds in which she commonly 
resides. 

The nest of our bird is usually built in a low bush, partly 
concealed by rank grass or grain; at times in the forks of 
a young orchard tree 10 or 12 feet from the ground. I have 
also seen one suspended in a complicated manner in a 
trellised grape-vine. If left undisturbed they often build 
in the same garden or orchard for several successive years. 
When in a bush, the nest is suspended betwixt two twigs, 
passing upon either side. Externally it is composed of 
coarse sedge-grass, some withered leaves, and lined with 
fine stalks of the same, and the slender hair-like tops of the 
bent-grass (Agrostis), with a very few cow-hairs, though 
sometimes they make a substantial lining of hair. The 
nest which I saw, in the vine, was composed outwardly of 
coarse strips of bass-mat, weeds, and some strings picked 
up in the garden, and lined with horse-hair and a few tops 
of bent-grass. The eggs, about 5, are greenish white, and 
without any spots.* (Wilson speaks of a blotch of purple 
at the great end.) The young here scarcely leave the nest 
before the end of July, or the first week in August; and 
they raise usually but a single brood in the season. They 
appear to show great timidity about their nest, and often 
readily forsake it when touched, or when an egg is ab- 
stracted. Their usual note of alarm, when themselves or 
their young are approached, is a sharp ¢tship, quickly and 
anxiously repeated, resembling almost the striking of two 
pebbles. They will not forsake their young, however ready 


* Dr. Brewer, after examining more than eight nests, finds no instance of spotted 
eggs. 


PAINTED BUNTING OR FINCH. 551 


they may be to relinquish their eggs; and they have been 
known to feed their brood very faithfully through the bars 
of a cage in which they were confined. 


The length of this species is 53 inches, and 7 in alar dimensions. 
Above, the body is of a bright sky-blue. deepening on the head 
and throat to an ultramarine ; the rest of the blue, by reflection in 
certain lights, appears of a luminous verdigris-green, Wings and 
tail dusky, the former edged with bluish-grey, the latter with blue ; 
the tail forked, beneath presenting a pale silvery reflection ; coverts 
of the wings black, broadly edged and tipt with blue, lesser coverts 
blue and black at the base, lining of the wing blue, near the body 
grey, only tinged with that color. Upper mandible black, the lower 
paler towards the point, (in young birds pale horn-color.) Legs and 
feet dusky. — Female of a flaxen color tinged with pale ferruginous, 
the wings and tail dusky-brown, the latter edged with greyish-blue. 
Cheeks and below pale ferruginous-white, darker at the sides; about 
the rump, lower part of the back, and upper wing-coverts tinged with 
pale bluish-green ; the lower mandible very pale. 


PAINTED BUNTING or FINCH. 


(Fringilla ciris, TeEmm. Avpuson, pl. 53. Orn. Biog. i. p. 279. Embe- 
riza ciris, WILSON, lil. p. 68. pl. 24. fig. 1. [male] and fig. 2. [fe- 
male]. Phil. Museum, No. 6062 and 6063.) 


Spec. Cuaractr.— Vermilion-red; head and neck above purplish- 
blue; back yellowish-green; wings dusky-red; lesser coverts pur- 
ple; the greater, and the tail, green. — Female and young of the 
first season, green-olive ; beneath Naples yellow. 


Tus splendid, gay, and docile bird, known to the 
Americans as the Nonpareil, and to the French Louisi- 
anians as the Pape, inhabits the woods of the low coun- 
tries of the Southern States, in the vicinity of the sea, and 
along the borders of the larger rivers, from North Carolina 
to Mexico. They arrive from their tropical quarters in 
Louisiana and Georgia from the middle to the 20th of 


552 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


April. Impatient of cold, they retire to the South early 
in October, and are supposed to winter about Vera Cruz. 
For the sake of their song as well as beauty of plumage, 
they are commonly domesticated in the houses of the 
French inhabitants of New Orleans and its vicinity ; and 
some have succeeded in raising them in captivity, where 
plenty of room was allowed in an aviary. In England 
they have been known to build and lay their eggs in the 
orange trees of a menagerie. ‘They are familiar also in 
the gardens and orchards, where their warbling notes are 
almost perpetually heard throughout the summer. ‘Their 
song much resembles that of the Indigo Bird, but their 
voice is more feeble and concise. Soon reconciled to the 
cage, they will sing even a few days after being caught. 
Their food consists of rice, insects, and various kinds of 
seeds ; they collect also the grains of the ripe figs, and, 
frequenting gardens, build often within a few paces of the 
house, being particularly attached to the orangeries. 

Their nests are usually made in the hedges of the 
orange, or on the lower branches of the same tree, like- 
wise occasionally in a bramble or thorny bush. Externally 
they are formed of dry, withered grass, blended with the 
tenacious silk of caterpillars, lined with hair, and internally 
finished with fine fibrous roots. The eggs are 4 or 5, 
white, or pearly, and marked with dark purplish brown 
spots. In the mildest climates in which they pass the 
summer, they raise two broods in the season. ‘They are 
commonly caught in trap-cages, to which they are some- 
times allured by a stuffed bird, which they descend to 
attack; and they have been known to survive in domesti- 
cation for upwards of ten years. 

The Nonpareil is about 54 inches long, and 8 in alar extent. Back 


and scapulars glossy yellow, stained with green, and in old birds with 
red. Tail slightly forked, purplish brown (generally green). Legs 


— 


WHITE-CROWNED FINCH. 553 


and feet leaden-grey. Bill black above, plain greyish-blue below. 
Iris hazel. They gain their perfect livery in the second year. Fe- 
male a little less. 


t + Species of Fringilla, allied to Emberiza. 


WHITE-CROWNED FINCH. 


(Fringilla leucophrys, Tremm. Avp. pl. 114. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 88. 
Emberiza leucophrys, Witson, iv. p. 49. pl. 31. fig. 4. [male]. Phil. 
Museum, No. 6587.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— The head white, line surrounding the crown and 
through each eye black; beneath pale ash; vent pale ochreous ; 
chin white ; wings dusky, with 2 white bands. 


Tuts rare and handsome species is very little known in 
any part of the United States, a few stragglers only being 
seen about the beginning of winter, and again in May or 
earlier, on their way back to their Northern breeding- 
places, in the fur countries and round Hudson’s Bay, which 
they visit from the South in May, and construct their nests 
in June in the vicinity of Albany fort and Severn river. 
These are fixed on the ground, or near it, in the shelter of 
the willow trees which they glean, probably with many 
other birds, for the insects which frequent them. 

According to Audubon, who found this species breeding 
in Labrador, the nest was placed in the mess which so 
generally covers the surface of that cold and desolate region, 
near the foot of a low fir, and was formed externally of 
green moss, (hypna?) internally of fine grass, neatly 
arranged, lined with delicate fibrous roots of a rich 
yellow color (probably those of the roots of the Coptis 
trifolia.) The eggs, 5 in number, are of a light sea-green, 
mottled towards the larger end with brownish spots and 

AT 


554 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


blotches of two shades ; the eggs were laid from the begin- 
ning to the end of June; by the 12th of August they had 
commenced their southern migration. At this season the 
male sings in a loud, clear, musical, but rather plaintive 
tone, the song consisting of 6 or 7 notes; these he repeats 
at short intervals during the whole day. On the 13th of 
April, 1835, I saw flocks of this species among the thickets 
in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, Upper California. It sung 
with a feeble, quaint note, to me unlike that of any other 
species, and almost similar to some of the notes of the Chic- 
adee. As they depart from Hudson’s Bay in September, it 
is probable that they principally winter in the Canadian 
provinces, otherwise, as passengers further south, they 
would be seen more abundantly in the United States than 
they are. Indeed, as they approach this part of New Eng- 
land only in small desultory parties in the winter, as in No- 
vember and December, it is evident that they only migrate 
a short distance in quest of food, and return to the North at 
the approach of fine weather. While here they appear 
silent and solitary, and are not difficult to approach. Their 
food, as usual, is seeds of grasses, insects and their 
larve. 

The length of this species is 74 inches ; alarextent about 103. The 
back streaked with dark rusty-brown and pale bluish-white ; the wings 
dusky, edged broadly with brown ; 2 white bands produced on the 
wing by the broad white tips of the greater and lesser wing-coverts ; 
tertials black, edged with brown and white. Rump and tail-coverts 
drab tinted with lighter. Tail long, rounded, dusky, broadly edged 
with drab; belly white ; vent pale ochreous. Bill cinnamon-brown. 
Legs and feet about the color of the bill, but lighter. Iris reddish- 
hazel. —In the female the white on the head is less pure, the black 
smaller in extent, and the ash on the breast darker; she is also some- 
what less. 


YELLOW-CROWNED FINCH. 555 


MOURNING FINCH. 


(Fringilla *querula, Noxis.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Face and chin black; cheeks and nape cinereous ; 
throat spotted with dusky ; belly white ; above varied with black 
and brownish ; two faint white bars on the wings. 


WE observed this species, which we at first took for the 
preceding, a few miles to the west of Independence, in 
Missouri, towards the close of April. It frequents thickets, 
uttering early in the morning, and occasionally at other 
times, a long, drawling, faint, monotonous and solemn note 
te de dé dé. We heard it again on the 5th of May, not far 
from the banks of Little Vermilion, of the Kansa. 


YELLOW-CROWNED FINCH. 


(Fringilla aurocapilla, Nowis. F. atricapilla, Aup. Synops. p. 122. 
Emberiza atricapilla, Lara. in part. Avup. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 47. 
pl. 394. fig. 3. [male]. Museum, Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Front and broad line over the eyes to the nape, 
black, with a broad central band of yellow; above olive-brown va- 
ried with dusky ; two white bands across the wings; below grey, 
inclining to rufous on the sides and vent; bill dusky, below flesh- 
color ; tail even. 


WE first observed the young of this fine species on the 
plains which form the central table-land of the Rocky 
Mountains, a region elevated 6 or 7000 feet above the level 
of the sea. They were running mostly on the ground, and 
uttered no note more than an occasional chip. We after- 
wards saw a few stragglers, in the early part of winter, in 
the thickets of the forests of the Oregon, near Fort Vancou- 
ver, accompanying the White-crowned Finch (Fringilla 


556 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


leucophrys), to which they appear to which they appear to 
have a considerable affinity, both in external appearance 
and habits. ‘They descend to the coast and pass to the 
South in the cold season; and are equally seen at this sea- 
son and until Jate in the spring, in the woods and thickets 
of Upper California. 


This bird is no doubt similar to the specimen mentioned by Latham 
from Nootka, (vol. v. p. 328, 2d ed.) and entirely distinct from the 
Emberiza atricapilla of the Sandwich Islands, of which he gives a 
figure in plate 91.— Length 73 inches ; wing from the flexure about 
34 inches. Bill, upper mandible dusky brown, the lower flesh-colored 
dusky towards the point. Sides of the head above the eyes from the 
bill to the nape black, with a central broad band of greenish-yellow, 
fading into ash on the nape. Above, olive-brown tinged with grey, 
the feathers with central dusky spots; 2 narrow bands of white 
across the wing. Tail greyish-brown, edged with yellowish grey. 
Cheeks, throat, and breast grey ; on the sides and rump tinged with 
yellowish-brown ; 2d and 3d quills longest, the 1st quill about 4 of an 
inch shorter. Legs, feet, and claws pale flesh-color. In the young 
male the crown is almost wholly yellow, mixed with dusky spots, the 
front only black. | 


GAMBEL’S FINCH. 


(Fringilla Gambelii, Nozis. Museum of the Academy of Nat. Se. 
Philad.) 

Spec. CHaract. — Crown deep chesnut, with a broad pale-brown me- 
dium band ; a narrow whitish line over the eye ; above pale yellow- 
ish-brown, varied with dusky; two white bands on the wings; be- 
neath grey, inclining to brown on the sides and vent; bill cinna- 
mon-brown ; tail even. 


Aut that we know of this species is, that a single male 
specimen was obtained by Mr. Townsend towards the close 
of August, in the willow thickets bordering the Columbia, 
near Fort Wallah-Wallah. I believe this species was also 
seen by us on the ground in the plains of the Big Vermilion, 


LARK FINCH. 657 


in Missouri, about the Ist of May. It is somewhat allied 
to the F. aurocapilla, but is less by about an inch, with the 
legs and feet light brown and much more slender. The 
bill is also considerably smaller, and nearly of a uniform 
cinnamon-brown color. 


Length 6 inches. Legs, feet, and claws slender ; crown deep ches- 
nut down to the nape; medium band broad and pale brown; nape 
grey, inclining to olive; back light yellowish-brown, spotted with 
dusky ; rump and lower part of the back pale yellowish brown. Tail 
wedge-shaped, about 24 inches long, dusky brown edged with pale 
brown ; tertiaries dusky, broadly edged with pale ferruginous, and 
partly tipped with white. The Ist and 2d row of wing-coverts tipped 
with white soas to produce two very distinct white bars; Ist primary 
a little shorter than the 5th, the primaries edged with white ; a white 
ring roundtheeye. Biil cinnamon-brown, the lower mandible yel- 
lowish towards the base ; cheeks grey tinged with brown, below grey, 
nearly white on the throat, and wholly so on the abdomen; vent and 
sides pale brown, inclining to white. 

I have named this species after my friend and ornithologist, Mr. 
William Gambel. 


Note. — Fringilla Mortonii of Audubon, is the Ash-crowned Finch of Latham, 
and is a native of Chili, where Mr. Townsend procured the specimen described by 
Audubon, and inadvertently attributed to the Rocky Mountains. 


LARK FINCH. 


(Fringilla grammacea, Say. Bonar. Am. Orn, i. p. 47. pl. 5. fig. 3. 
Avp. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 17. pl. 390. Phil. Museum, No. 6288.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Head striped with black and whitish ; tail round- 
ed, the lateral feathers partly white; a white patch on the wing; 
above greyish-brown with dusky spots. 


For this species we are again indebted to Mr. Say, who 
observed it in abundance near the Council Bluffs and the 
47* 


558 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


neighboring country of the Missouri in the spring as well as 
in the month of June. It appears to be wholly confined to ~ 
the west side of the Mississippi, and probably extends into 
Mexico. They frequent the prairie grounds, and seldom if 
ever alight on trees ; they sing sweetly, and, like the Larks, 
have the habit of continuing their notes while on the wing. 

Mr. Townsend observes, ‘‘ This species inhabits several 
hundred miles of the Platte plains in great numbers, as well 
as the banks of the Columbia river. It generally affects 
the low bushes of wormwood (Artemisia), from the summit 
of which it pours forth a variety of pretty notes.” At the 
commencement of the pairing season, the males are very 
pugnacious, fighting often on wing, and the conquering 
rival, repairing to the nearest bush, tunes his lively pipe in 
token of success. Mr. 'T. also again met with it, in smaller 
numbers, in June, near the mouth of Lewis’s river. We 
never observed it in the wooded region of the Oregon; but 
they inhabit the prairies eastward, nearly to the settlements 
of the Missouri. 

This species is 64 inches long. On the top of the head there are 
2 widish dark lines, passing into ferruginous behind, and separated 
from each other by a light grey line; another whitish line extends 
from the base of the upper mandible over the eye to the sides of the 
neck ; another small, interrupted, almost similarly colored line passes 
from the bill beneath the eye; a broadish space of umber extends 
from the mouth over the auriculars; and then from the base of the 
lower mandible extends another broad, curving, white line ascending 
towards the ears; another very dark, unequal line stretches from the 
same mandible along the sides of the throat, whieh last with the 
chin is, apparently, of a cream white. The neck and breast dull 
cinereous, a dusky brownish spot on the latter; belly and vent nearly 
white. Above cinereous umber-brown, the back feathers centred 
with a more dusky hue, and the wings and tail edged with very pale 
brown ; 2d primary longest; a white angular spot on the wing. A 
white spot on all the tail-feathers but the 2 central ones, increasing 
in size to the outer. Bill pale horn-color. Legs and feet pale yel- 
lowish-brown. Iris dark-brown.—- The female is duller in color, but 
in other respects very similar. 


WHITE-THROATED FINCH. 559 


WHITE-THROATED FINCH. 


(Fringilla pennsylvanica, Latu. Aupvuson, pl. 8. Orn. Biog. i. p. 42. 
F. albicollis, Witson, ii. p. 51. pl. 22. fig. 2. [male]. Phil. Museum, 
No. 6486.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— The head striped with dusky and white ; a yellow 
line from the nostril to the eye ; shoulder of the wing edged with 
greenish-yellow ; cheeks and breast cinereous; throat and belly 
white; above varied with dusky, bay, and light brown. — Female, 
below, and stripes on the head, light drab. 


Tus large and handsome Sparrow is seen in this part 
of Massachusetts, only as a transient visitor at the approach 
of winter, or in spring, about the first week in May. In 
the Middle and Southern States, they pass the inclement 
season, and appear there as a numerous species. A flock 
even of these birds has been observed in the state of New 
York in the month of January. In their hibernal resorts, 
they are seen in bands, and show a predilection for thick- 
ets, swamps, small streams, and the borders of ponds, 
where, among the tall and bleaching weeds, they continue 
to collect the seeds, and probably insect larve, which con- 
stitute their usual fare. While here they keep much on 
the ground, and seek out cool and shady situations, 
scratching up the fallen leaves in quest of worms and 
other insects, and are at this time often very unsuspicious, 
allowing a near approach without betraying any alarm; 
but when in large flocks, they move about in timorous 
haste as soon as approached. About the 15th of April, 
they leave the middle States, and retire to the high north- 
ern latitudes to breed, having been seen in Labrador, 
Newfoundland, and the fur countries up to the 66th paral- 
lel in summer. At the period of breeding, the male sings 
with considerable energy and melody already in the early 
spring, also before their departure to the North, on fine 


560 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


mornings, they are heard to whisper forth a few sweet and 
clear notes, as in a reverie of the approaching happiness 
of their more lively and interesting condition. 

Dr. Richardson remarks that a nest of this species was 
found on the 14th of June at Cumberland House; it was 
placed under a fallen tree, made of grass and lined with 
deer’s hair and a few feathers: the eggs 4 in number were 
pale mountain green, thickly marbled with reddish brown. 
Another nest at Great Bear Lake was lined with the bris- 
tles of a species of Bryum. 


The length of this species is about 7 inches; the alar dimensions 
9to 94. A stripe of yellowish-white passes from the base of the 
upper mandible to the hind-head, which is bordered on either side 
by a stripe of brownish-black ; another pale line passes over the eye, 
becoming yellow between that and the nostril; this line is again 
bordered by a narrrow stripe of brownish-black proceeding from the 
lower angle of the eye. Tail somewhat wedge-shaped. Legs pale 
flesh-color. Bill bluish horn-color, pale beneath. 


BAY-WINGED or GRASS FINCH. 


(Fringilla graminea, Guet. Aupuson, pl. 94. Orn. Biog. i. p. 473. 
Emberiza graminea, Wiuson, iv. p. 51. pl. 31. fig. 5.) 


Spec. Coaract.— Breast and flanks spotted with brown ; lesser wing- 
coverts bay ; the 2 outer tail-feathers partly white ; above brownish- 
grey, varied with dusky. 


Tuts plain-looking Finch chiefly frequents dry pas- 
tures and meadows, and is often seen perched on the 
fences and in the orchard trees; it also often approaches 
the public roads and gathers its subsistence tamely from 
various sources. It is abundant in all the States east of 
the Alleghanies, where many pass the whole year, yet great 
numbers also winter in the southern parts of the Union, 
proceeding as far as the maritime districts of Georgia and 


BAY-WINGED FINCH. 561 


Florida; they are also found in the Oregon territory. From 
the commencement of April to the beginning of June, they 
sing with a clear and agreeable note, scarcely inferior to 
that of the Canary, though less loud and varied. On their 
first arrival, as with the Song Sparrow, their notes are often 
given in an under tone of considerable sweetness. Their 
song begins at early dawn, and is again peculiarly frequent 
after sun-set until dark, when, from the fence of some ele- 
vated pasture-field, in the cool of the summer evening, when 
other songsters have retired to rest, the Grass Sparrow, 
more than usually wakeful, after a silence which has per- 
haps continued nearly through the warmer part of the day, 
pipes forth his clear and slender, though now almost mo- 
notonous song, near to the favorite spot where his mate 
hatches or fosters her tender brood ; and from all the neigh- 
boring meadows, at this silent hour, as the last rays of the 
sun are reflected from the dusky horizon, we hear a con- 
stant repetition of an echoing and shrill ¢sh ’tsh ’tshé te 
tshete tshéte, with warbling tones blended and varied, at 
the beginning and close of this simple, rather pensive, but 
agreeable ditty. They are more common in fields than 
thickets, and run along the ground in the manner of the 
Lark. They likewise frequent ploughing fields, searching 
on the ground for insects, and are very fond of dusting 
themselves and basking in dry places. 

The nest is built on the ground, in tufted grass, usually 
sunk below the surface, concealed, or sometimes exposed, 
as in the Sky Lark, and formed principally of withered, 
wiry grass, also lined with the same and some hair. The 
eggs, 4 or 5, are white, with 2 or 3 shades of dark reddish- 
brown scattered spots, chiefly disposed at the greater end. 
Being nearly sedentary, they raise probably several broods 
in the season. Sometimes when started from the nest, the 
female simulates lameness with remarkable dexterity, so as 


562 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


very readily to draw off the attention of her enemies or in- 
truders. ‘The young are easily raised from the nest, and 
become very tame, clean, and domestic, but readily quarrel 
with each other. 


The length of the Grass Finch is about 6 or 64 inches, and 103 in 
alar dimensions. Primaries edged with whitish. Tail partly wedged, 
the outer feather almost wholly white, except towards the base of the 
inner web; the next feather white on the outer vane, and (sometimes) 
also with a spot of the same color. Breast and flanks white, tinged 
with very pale brown, and spotted with dark pointed spots along the 
shafts of the feathers; belly and vent white ; 2d and 3d primaries 
longest. Bill above dusky, notched near the tip; beneath paler. Legs 
and feet pale flesh-color. Tarsus } of an inch. — Female hardly dis- 
tinguishable from the male; the spots of the breast somewhat fewer 
and smaller. 


COMMON SONG-SPARROW. 


(Fringilla fasciata, Guet. F. melodia, Wison, ii. p. 125. pl. 16. 
fig. 4. Aupuson, pl. 25. Orn. Biog. i. p. 126. Phil. Museum, 
No. 6573.) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Crown chesnut, divided by a greyish line ; breast 
and flanks spotted with blackish-brown ; tail cuneiform, unspotted ; 


COMMON SONG-SPARROW. 563 


Ist primary shortest: body above varied with blackish, chesnut, and 
olive-grey. 


Turs familiar and almost domestic bird is one of the 
most common and numerous Sparrows in the United 
States ; it is, also, with the Blue-bird, which it seems to 
accompany, one of the two earliest, sweetest, and most 
enduring warblers. Though many pass on to the South- 
ern States at the commencement of winter, yet a few 
seem to brave the colds of New England, as long as the 
snowy waste does not conceal their last resource of nutri- 
ment. When the inundating storm at length arrives, 
they no longer, in the sheltering swamps, and borders of 
bushy streams, spend their time in gleaning an insufficient 
subsistence, but in the month of November, begin to 
retire to the warmer states; and here, on fine days, 
even in January, whisper forth their usual strains. As 
early as the 4th of March, the weather being mild, the 
Song-Sparrow and the Blue-Bird here jointly arrive, and 
cheer the yet dreary face of nature with their familiar 
songs. he latter flits restlessly through the orchard or 
neighboring fields; the Sparrow, more social, frequents 
the garden, barn-yard, or road-side in quest of support, 
and from the top of some humble bush, stake, or taller 
bough, tunes forth his cheering lay, in frequent repetitions, 
for half an hour or more at atime. These notes have 
some resemblance to parts of the Canary’s song, and are 
almost uninterruptedly and daily delivered, from his com- 
ing to the commencement of winter. When he first ar- 
rives, while the weather is yet doubtful and unsettled, the 
strain appears contemplative, and often delivered in a pe- 
culiarly low and tender whisper, which, when hearkened to 
for some time, will be found more than usually melodious, 
seeming as a sort of reverie, or innate hope of improving 
seasons, which are recalled with a grateful, calm, and ten- 


564 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


der delight. At the approach of winter, this vocal thrill, 
sounding like an Orphean farewell to the scene and sea- 
son, is still more exquisite, and softened by the sadness 
which seems to breathe almost with sentiment, from the 
decaying and now silent face of nature. Our songster, 
never remarkable for sprightliness, as the spring advances, 
delivers his lay louder and more earnestly. He usually 
begins with a tsh’ tsh’ tshé te tshéte tshéte, and blends in a 
good deal of quivering notes. Individuals also excel, and 
vary their song from time to time with very agreeable ef- 
fect ; and it is only because our familiar vocalist is so con- 
stantly heard and seen, that so little value is set upon his 
agreeable, cheerful, and faithful performance. When not 
attached to the garden, our Sparrow seems fond of fre- 
quenting low bushy meadows, streams, swamps, and watery 
situations, which afford him ready shelter, and his usual 
food of worms, insects, larve, and seeds. Such situations 
are also their favorite resorts, when, in gregarious, and 
miscellaneous flocks with other congeneric kinds, they are 
seen to crowd the sheltered marshes of the Southern 
States. They are also commonly seen nimbly running 
along the ground, and gliding through low thickets in quest 
of their insect fare; and in fine weather they dust them- 
selves, and bask in the sun. They often likewise frequent 
the water, being fond of washing; and sometimes are seen 
to swim across small streams, particularly when disabled 
from flying, by a gun-shot wound. 

This species appears to abound from Canada to the 
Southern States, and breeds probably more or less in all 
the intermediate region. It builds usually on the ground, 
a little below the level, under a tuft of grass, or in a low 
bush, and occasionally in an evergreen, as the red cedar, 
4 or 5 feet from the ground. Sometimes pushed for a sit- 
uation of sufficient concealment from enemies, I have 


COMMON SONG-SPARROW. 565 


known it make a nest in the hole of a decayed trunk, 5 or 
6 feet from the ground. It is usually formed of a consid- 
erable portion of fine dry grass, neatly put together, and 
mostly lined with horse-hair, The eggs, 4 or 5, are green- 
ish or bluish-white, thickly spotted with one or two shades 
of brown, the spots sometimes larger, and chiefly disposed 
towards the larger end; at other times very small and nu- 
merous, scattered over the greater part of the surface. 
They are very prolific, raising as many as 3 broods in a 
season, the young being occasionally hatched, in the mid- 
dle States, from the close of April to the end of August. 
They are very solicitous for the safety of their young, 
keeping up at this time often a tiresome chirping; and on 
the destruction of the female and most of her young, I 
have known the remaining male, with unceasing and anx- 
ious attention, raise a solitary survivor of his ruined family, 
with the most devoted affection. As they keep the young 
and their habitation so very clean, and are so prolific, it is 
a matter of surprise, that they do not re-occupy the prem- 
ises ; instances are, however, not wanting in which they 
have been known to raise two broods in the same nest. 
Both parents join in the duty of incubation, and alternately 
feed each other while so engaged. 


The Song-Sparrow is about 64 inches long, and 84 im alar extent. 
Head chesnut and dusky, obscurely divided by a grey line; line over 
the eye ash, becoming nearly white towards the bill; stripe from the 
lower mandible, opening of the mouth, and posterior angle of the 
eye, dark chesnut. Breast and flanks pointedly spotted with chesnut, 
the spots centered with black. Chin, belly, and vent white, the last 
obscurely and faintly spotted with pale chesnut. Tail 23 inches long, 
brown, the upper feathers centered with dusky, and marked with nu- 
merous faint bands. Wings pale dusky, coverts dusky-brown and 
bay, edged with greyish-white, tertials darker; under-coverts, or 
lining, and the ridge of the shoulder white ; 3d and 4th primaries 


48 


566 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


longest ; Ist primary much shorter than the sixth. Legs flesh-colored. 
Iris hazel. Bill above dusky, below purplish. — The female scarcely 
differing in plumage. 


SAVANNAH SPARROW. 


(Fringilla Savanna, Witson, iv. p. 72. pl. 34. fig. 4. [male], and iii. 
p. 55. pl. 22. fig. 3. [female.] Avup. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 63. pl. 109. 
F. hiemalis? Gmev. Lata. Pennant, No. 254. [young.] Phil. 
Museum, No. 6583, 6584.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Line over the eye and ridge of the wings yellow ; 
breast and flanks spotted with blackish ; tail emarginate, extending 
about an inch beyond the tips of the closed wings; Ist primary 
nearly equal to the 2d: above varied with blackish, brown and 
grey, or white.— Female darker. — Young without the yellow 
marks, and with the spots of the breast greyish-dusky. 


Tus Sparrow, allied to the preceding, but far less 
familiar, is commonly seen in this part of New England 
from April to October; migrating towards the South in 
severe weather, though many pass the whole winter in the 
Middle States. They also exist on the plains of the 
Rocky Mountains, and as far west as the open borders of 
the Oregon, and along the Atlantic coast they proceed as far 
to the north as the coast of Labrador. In Georgia and West 
Florida they are rather numerous in the cold season, mi- 
grating in quest of food probably from the West; and the 
whole species generally show a predilection for the warm 
and sheltered vicinage of the sea, where the seeds and 
insects they feed on are most abundant. On their first 
arrival in Massachusetts, they frequent the sandy beaches 
and shores of the bays in quest of Cicindele and other 
coleopterous insects, which frequent such situations; and 
they are at this time exceedingly fat, though their moult is 
not yet completed. In summer this shy and timid species 


SAVANNAH SPARROW. 567 


lives wholly in pasture or grass fields, and often descends 
to the ground in quest of food. Its nest, also laid in the 
grass, and made of the dry blades of the same, very simi- 
lar to that of the Song-Sparrow, is usually built about the 
close of April. The eggs are pale greenish, slightly spot- 
ted and splashed with pale umber. 

In the month of March, in Georgia, I observed these 
Sparrows in the open grassy pine woods, on the margins of 
small swamps or galls. At times, they utter a note almost 
exactly similar to the chirpings of a cricket, so that it 
might easily be mistaken for that insect. At other times 
they utter a few pleasant notes somewhat similar to the 
song of the £.. fasciata but sufficiently distinct. 


The length of this species is about 6 inches, and 9 in alar dimen- 
sions. (The female about 54 inches long.) The head is dusky- 
brown, with some shades of bay, and divided indistinctly in the cen- 
tre by a yellowish-white line. The rest of the plumage above is a 
mixture of dusky brownish-black, with grey, white, or bay edgings to 
the feathers, the white edgings chiefly on the upper part of the back. 
Wings and tail dusky, edged with whitish, the tail only 2 inches 
long, with the feathers pointed. Chin white; sides of the neck, 
breast, and flanks with dark pointed spots edged with bay. Belly 
white. Inner ridge of the wings touched with pale yellow ; tertials 
very dark; (the black predominates much more in this than in the 
preceding species.) Legs pale flesh-color, the hind claw long and 
sharp. Bill above dusky, below purplish, inclining to yellow, notched 
slightly near the point. —- Male with more white on the chin, breast, 
and sides of the face. 


Nore. There is little doubt, but that the young of this species is 
the F. hiemalis of Gmelin and Pennant, though the wing-coverts are 
not edged with real white; Wilson’s name, however, must remain, as 
the Linnean hiemalis is also a synonyme of the Snow-Bird. 


568 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


SUMMER FINCH. 


(Fringilla estiva, Nosis. Summer Finch, Larn. vol. vi. p. 136. No. 
124. [Ed. 2d.] F. Bachmanii, Aup. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 366. pl. 16. 
Peucea Bachmanii, Aup. Synops. p. 112.) 


Spec, Cuaract. — Reddish-brown varied with black ; below yellow- 
ish-grey, streak over the eye ochre yellow; throat pale, witha 
dusky streak on each side ; flexure of the wings yellow. 


Tuts interesting species was first made known to Audu- 
bon by Dr. Bachman, who found it near the Edisto river, 
and afterwards breeding in the vicinity of Charleston, South 
Carolina, in the pine barrens. ‘The discoverer remarks, 
of this bird,—When I first heard its notes, they so nearly 
resembled those of the Towee-Bunting, that I took it to be 
that bird. As soon as it is seen in the tall pine trees, where 
it usually sits to warble out its melodious notes, it darts 
down and conceals itself in the rank grass, through which 
it runs off like a mouse, and is flushed with difficulty. It is 
believed to breed on the ground. It is said to be the finest 
songster of the Sparrow family in the United States. Its 
notes are loud for the size of the bird, and heard nearly 
alone in the region it frequents. About the month of No- 
vember it proceeds to migrate further south, though a few 
stragglers still remain throughout the winter. According 
to Latham, they nest usually on the ground among the 
grass, under small bushes ; it is composed of dry grass for 
the most part, the eggs dusky white. He also adds, that 
they inhabit Georgia the whole year, frequenting fences, 
brushwood, and thickets. 

Some years ago, in Georgia, in the month of March, I 
observed these Sparrows in the open grassy pine woods, on 
the margins of small swamps or galls, On being suddenly 
surprised, they often flew off a little distance, and then, if 
followed, descended to the ground, and ran and hid closely 


LINCOLN’S FINCH. 569 


in the tall tufts of grass. Their notes, at this time, were 
very long, piping and elevated, and resembling often tshé 
tship tship tship tship tship tship,— then tshe ch’ tsh’ tsh’ 
ts’h ts’h. Some of these notes were as fine and lively as 
those of the Canary ; loud, echoing, and cheerful. 

The food of this species consists of grass seeds, coleop- 
tera, and a variety of small berries as they come in season. 
The sexes are nearly alike in plumage. 


Length 6 inches, extent of wings 74. Bill dusky, paler beneath. 
Tail deeply emarginate. Feet pale flesh-color. Above reddish- 
brown varied with black, the margins of the feathers bluish-grey, the 
rest of the large feathers edged with yellowish-brown or pale ochre. 
Throat pale yellowish-grey with a short streak of blackish on each 
side from the base of the mandible; fore part of the breast and sides 
tinged with brown ; the rest of the lower parts yellowish-grey. 


LINCOLN’S FINCH. 


(Fringilla Lincolnii, Avp. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 539, pl. 198. Peucea Lin- 
colnii, Aup. Synops. p. 113.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Above yellowish-brown varied with dusky ; crown 
with a cinereous central band, and another over the eye ; cheeks 
greyish-brown, with a curved ochreous band ; throat white, streak- 
ed with dusky and with a dusky line on each side; below greyish- 
yellow, streaked with dusky at the sides. 


‘ 


Tur habits of this boreal species, discovered by Audubon 
in Labrador, are very similar to those of the Song Sparrow. 
Like it, mounted on the topmost twig of some tree or tall 
shrub, it chants for hours together; or, diving into the 
thicket, it hops from branch to branch, until it reaches the 
ground, in quest of its usual fare of insects and berries. It 
moves off swiftly when watched ; and if forced to take wing 
flies low and with rapidity to some considerable distance. 

48* 


570 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


It is met with usually near streams, in the sheltered valleys 
of that cold and desolate region. By the 4th of July the 
young had left the nest, and in August they had begun 
their migrations to the South. Specimens have been ob- 
tained by Mr. W. Cooper near New York city. 


Length 53 inches, extent of wings a little over 8 inches. Bill along 
the ridge 5-12ths of an inch, dark brown at the end, greyish-blue at 
the base. Feet yellowish-brown. <A greyish-blue band on the centre 
of the head and another at the side over the eye, the intermediate 
spaces chesnut streaked with brownish-black. Quills and larger co- 
verts margined with yellowish-brown, and the latter slightly tipped 
with whitish. Tail yellowish-brown, the outer feathers paler. Cheeks 
yellowish-brown, tinged with grey, beneath which is a curved band 
of ochreous yellow; throat white, streaked with dusky, and having a 
line of dusky spots on each side ; fore part of the breast and sides pale 
greyish-yellow, streaked with dusky, the rest greyish-white. 


SAVANNA or YELLOW-SHOULDERED FINCH. 


(Fringilla savanarum, GmrL. LATHAM, 1. p. 443. No. 31 and Synop- 
sis, lili. p. 270. No. 27. F. passerina, Witson, ul. p. 76. pl. 24. fig. 
5. Aun. Orn. Biog. il. p. 180. pl. 130. Phil. Museum, No. 6585.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Breast pale brownish-yellow ; line over the eye, 
shoulder, and lesser wing-coverts yellow; tail-feathers rather 
pointed, the outer partly whitish. 


Tuts small Sparrow is a summer resident in the United 
States, in the distant territory of the Oregon, and is like- 
wise, according to Sloane, a common species in the savan- 
nas or open glades of the island of Jamaica. From what 
little is known of it, as a bird of the United States, it 
appears to remain on the sheltered plains of the sea-coast 
of New York and New Jersey until the very commence- 
ment of winter. It is also observed in the lower parts of 


HENSLOW’S FINCH. 571 


Pennsylvania, and about the middle of May or later, they 
are occasionally seen in the gardens of this vicinity, on 
their way apparently to some other breeding station. On 
these occasions they perch in sheltered trees in pairs, and 
sing in an agreeable voice somewhat like that of the Purple 
Finch, though less vigorously. In the West Indies, they 
live much on the ground, and run like Larks, flying low 
when flushed, and soon alighting. Their nest is like- 
wise fixed on the ground, among the grass, where they 
collect their usual fare of seeds and insects. It is made of 
loose, dry stalks of dead grass, and lined with hair and 
root-fibres. ‘The eggs, 5, are of a greyish-white, spotted 
with brown, and the female has been observed sitting as 
late as the first of August. They probably retire to the 
West Indies or Mexico to pass the winter, as they are not 
seen at this season in any of the Southern States. 


The length of this species is from 44 to 5 inches, alar extent about 
8. Upper part of the head blackish, divided by a slight pale line ; 
hind-head and neck with touches of dusky brown and white ; cheeks 
brownish-white ; back varied with blackish, brown, and pale ash; 
shoulders of the wings above and below, and lesser coverts of the 
same, yellow; primaries and tail, drab, the feathers of the latter 
rather pointed ; breast without spots, yellowish-white with a tinge of 
brown. Belly and vent white. Legs flesh-color Bill dusky, pale 
bluish-white below. The two sexes are nearly alike. 


HENSLOW’S FINCH. 


(Fringilla Henslowii, Nozis. Emberiza Henslowii, Avp. Orn. Biog. 
1. p. 360. pl. 70. F. candacuta, Larn. vol. 6. p. 137. No. 126 ?) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Pale brown, varied with dusky and rufous; below 
yellowish-grey, a line of the same over the eye ; sides, breast, and 
throat spotted with dusky ; bill flesh-color, darker above. 


_ Tuts species so much allied to the Savanna Finch, dis- 


572 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


covered by Audubon, is known to breed in New Jersey. 
As a winter bird of passage it is common in South Caro- 
lina, and equally abundant in the pine barrens of Florida, 
seeking out by choice the light sandy soils overgrown with 
pines, though it keeps on the ground wholly, running with 
celerity, and threading its way through the grass with the 
nimbleness of a mouse. 


Length about 5 inches. Feet and legs flesh-color. Above pale 
brown, the central part of the feathers dusky, the margins of those of 
the back bright rufous. Quills and tail dusky, margined with light 
yellowish-brown. Below pale yellowish-grey, the breast, sides, and 
throat spotted with brownish-black. 


TREE SPARROW. 


(Fringilla canadensis, Latu. Aup. Orn. Biog. i. p. 511. pl. 188. F. 
arborea, WixLson, 1. p. 123. pl. 16. fig. 3. Phil. Museum, No. 6575, 
Emberiza canadensis, Swans. North. Zool. ii. p. 252. 


Spec. CHaract .— Crown bright bay ; stripe over the eye, sides of the 
neck, chin, and breast, pale ash; wings with 2 white bars; bill 
black, the lower mandible yellow ; legs and feet dusky ; Ist pri- 
mary shorter than the 5th and 2d. 


Tis handsome winter Sparrow arrives from the north- 
thern regions in New England about the close of October, 
withdrawing from Hudson’s Bay and the neighboring coun- 
tries sometime in the month of September. The species, 
consequently, like many more of our Fringillas, only meas- 
ures his speed by the resources of subsistence he is able 
to obtain, and thus straggling southward, as the winter ad- 
vances, he enters Pennsylvania only about the beginning 
of November; there, as well as in the maritime parts of 
Massachusetts, and perhaps as far south as Virginia, the 
Tree Sparrow is often seen associated with the hardy 
Snow-Birds, gleaning a similar kind of subsistence; and 


TREE SPARROW. 573 


when the severity of winter commences, leaving the woods, 
gardens, and uplands in which he is an occasional visitor, 
he seeks in company the shelter of some bushy swamp, 
thickly shaded brook, or spring. Near Fresh Pond, in 
this vicinity, they are at that season numerous, and roost 
together near the margin of the reeds, almost in the society 
of the Blackbirds, who seek out a similar place of warmth 
and shelter as the chilling frosts begin to prevail. 

At this cool and gloomy season, and down to the close 
of the first week in November, as they pass from branch 
to branch, and play capriciously round each other, they 
keep up almost perpetually a low and pleasant liquid war- 
‘ble, not much unlike that of the Yellow Bird (Fringilla 
tristis), but less varied. Sometimes two or three at the 
same time will tune up s’weedit s’weedit weet, and s’waidit 
s’waidit weet, accompanied by some tremulous trilling and 
variation, which, though rather sad and querulous, is 
heard at this silent season with peculiar delight. In sum- 
mer, during the breeding-time, they express considerable 
melody. 

According to Mr. Hutchins, they breed around the Hud- 
son’s Bay settlements, making a nest in the herbage, form- 
ed externally of dry grass, and lined with soft hair or 
down, probably from vegetables, in the manner of the Yel- 
low Bird. The eggs, about 5, are said to be pale brown, 
marked with darker spots of the same color. According 
to Audubon, the eggs resemble those of the Chipping 
Sparrow. About the beginning of April, they leave the 
middle States for their summer quarters, and arrive around 
Severn river in May; they also probably propagate in 
Newfoundland, where they have been observed. With us, 
they are still seen in numbers to the 19th of April. 


The Tree Sparrow is about 64 inches long, and 9 to 94 in alar ex- 
tent. The whole upper part of the head bright bay without any 


574 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


dividing line ; sometimes this color, however, is slightly skirted with 
grey; stripe over the eye white at its commencement near the 
mandible, backwards fading into pale ash-color; the centre of the 
breast marked with an obscure spot of dark brown partly hidden 
beneath the other feathers. From the lower angle of the bill, and 
behind the eye, proceeds a small stripe of chesnut. Sides under the 
wings and towards the belly pale brown. The back varied with 
brownish-black, bay, and drab ; lower part of the back and rump pale 
greyish-brown; lesser wing-coverts deep ash-color; wings dusky, 
the primaries edged with dull white as well as the tail, the seconda- 
ries with pale brown; the Ist and 2d row of coverts broadly edged 
with bright bay and tipt with white. Tail dusky, forked, more than 
23 inches long; centre of the belly and vent white. Bull black, the 
under mandible yellow below the tip, 3 of an inch long, Legs dusky. 
brown, feet almost black, and robust. 


CHIPPING SPARROW. 


(Fringilla socialis, Witson, ii. p. 127. pl. 16. fig. 5. Aup. Orn. Biog. 
ii. p. 21. pl. 104. Phil. Museum, No. 6571.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— The 4 first primaries nearly of a length; frontlet 
black ; crown chesnut; chin and line over the eye whitish ; breast 
and sides of the neck, pale ash; bill black ; legs and feet slender, 
pale flesh-color ; hind nail shorter than the toe. 


Tuts species, with the Song-Sparrow, is probably the 
most numerous, common, and familiar bird in the United 
States; inhabiting from Nova Scotia to Florida, westward 
to the banks of the Missouri, and Mr. Townsend found it 
to be a common species in the territory of Oregon. Aware 
of the many parasitic enemies of the feathered race which 
it has to encounter, who prowl incessantly, and particularly 
in quest of its eggs, it approaches almost instinctively the 
precincts of houses, barns, and stables, and frequently 
ventures into the centre of the noisy and bustling city to 
seek in the cultivated court, an asylum for its expected 


CHIPPING SPARROW. 575 


progeny. Soon sensible of favor or immunity, it often 
occupies with its nest the thick shrubs of the garden within 
a few yards of the neighboring habitation, by the side 
perhaps of a frequented walk, in the low rose-bush, the 
lilac, or any other familiar plant affording any degree of 
shelter or security, and will at times regularly visit the 
threshold, the piazza, or farm yard for the crumbs which 
intention or accident may afford it. On other occasions, 
the orchard trees are chosen for its habitation, or in the 
lonely woods, an evergreen, cedar, or fir is selected for the 
purpose. It makes no pretensions to song, but merely 
chips, in complaint, when molested, or mounting the low 
boughs of some orchard tree or shrub, utters a quickly 
articulated ascending ’tsh ’tsh ’tsh ’tsh ’tsh tshe tshe, 
almost like the jingling of farthings, and a little resem- 
bling the faint warble of the Canary, but without any of 
its variety or loudness. This note, such as it is, is con- 
tinued often for half an hour at a time, but is little louder 
than the chirping of a cricket, and uttered by the male 
while attending his brooding mate. For many weeks, 
through the summer, and during fine weather, this note is 
often given from time to time in the night like the reverie 
of a dream. 

The nest of the Chipping Bird varies sometimes con- 
siderably in its materials and composition. The external 
layer, seldom so thick, but that it may be readily seen 
through, is composed of dry stalks of withered grass, and 
lined more or less with horse or cow hair. The eggs are 
4 and 5, of a bright though not deep greenish-blue color, 
with a few spots of dark and lighter brown chiefly dis- 
posed at the greater end. They are usually narrowed 
considerably at the small end, though occasionally they 
are almost oblong. The Cuckoo destroys many eggs of 
this timid, harmless, and sociable little bird, as their nests 


576 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


are readily discovered, and numerous; on such occasions, 
the little sufferer expresses great and unusual anxiety for 
the security of her charge, and after being repeatedly 
robbed, the female sits closely sometimes upon perhaps 
only two eggs, desirous at any rate to escape, if possible, 
with some of her little offspring. They raise two or more 
broods in the season. 

Towards the close of summer, the parents and their 
brood are seen busily engaged collecting seeds and in- 
sects, in the neighboring fields and lanes, and now be- 
come so numerous, as the autumn advances, that, flitting 
before the path on either side as the passenger proceeds, 
they almost resemble the falling leaves of the season, 
rustling before the cheerless blast; and finally, as their 
food fails, and the first snows begin to appear, advertised 
of the threatening famine, they disappear and winter in 
the Southern States. In the month of January, m Geor- 
gia, during the continuance of the cool weather, and frosty 
nights, I frequently heard, at dusk, a confused chirping or 
piping, like that of frogs, and, at length, discovered the 
noise to proceed from dense flocks of the Chipping Spar- 
rows, roosting or huddling near together in a pile of thick 
brush; where, with the Song-Sparrow, also, they find 
means to pass the cool nights. 


This species is about 5 to 54 inches in length, and 8 in alar extent. 
The frontlet is nearly black; chin and line over the eye whitish ; 
crown chesnut; the breast and sides of the neck pale ash; rump 
dark cinereous; belly and vent white. Back varied with brownish- 
black and bay. Wings dusky, broadly edged with bright chesnut. 
Tail dusky, forked, edged with yellowish-white. Bill in winter 
black, in summer the lower mandible is flesh-colored. Legs and fret 
pale flesh-color, tarsus 3 of an inch. — The female has less black on 
the frontlet, and the bay duller.— The young for a time are faintly 
spotted on the breast. 


FIELD OR RUSH SPARROW. Se 


FIELD or RUSH SPARROW. 


(Fringilla juncorum, Nowtis. Motacilla juncorum, GMEL. Sylvia junco- 
rum, LATH. ii. p. 511. Little Brown Sparrow, CarTessy, Car. i. p. 
30. F. pusilla, Wrtson, ii. p. 121. pl. 16. fig. 2. Aup. Orn. Biog. ii. 
p. 229. pl. 139. Passer virginianus, Brisson, 3. p. 101. Phil. Muse- 
um, No. 6560.) 


Sprc. Cuaract.— The Ist primary shorter than the 6th; crown 
chesnut; body above varied with bay, drab, and a little dusky ; 
cheeks, throat, and breast, pale brownish-grey ; bill and slender 
legs, brownish cinnamon-color, the latter paler; hind nail as long 
as the toe. 


Tuts small species, in size and general color is scarcely 
distinguishable from the Chipping Sparrow; it is how- 
ever much brighter, inclining more to bay above, and 
the tail is about half an inch longer in relative propor- 
tion. 

The Small Brown Sparrow arrives in Pennsylvania and 
New England from the Southern States, where it passes 
the winter, in the beginning of April. [t is with us a shy, 
wild, and retiring species, partial to dry hills and pastures, 
and open, bushy, secluded woods, living much in trees. 
In autumn, indeed, the pair accompanied by their brood 
in small flitting flocks, leave their native wilds, and glean, 
at times, in the garden or orchard; yet but little is now 
seen of them, as they only approach cultivated grounds a 
few weeks before their departure. ‘These Sparrows, if in- 
deed they are the same as those described by Wilson, in 
winter, flock together in great numbers in the Southern 
States, and mingling with the Chipping Birds, and other 
species, they now line the roads, fences, and straggling 
bushes, near the plantations in such numbers, as, with 
their sober and brown livery, to resemble almost a shower 


of rustling and falling leaves, continually haunting the 
AQ 


578 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


advancing steps of the traveller, in hungry, active flocks, 
driven by the storms of winter into this temporary and 
irksome exile. But, no sooner does the return of early 
spring arrive, than they flit entirely from the Southern 
wilds, to disperse in pairs and seek out again their favorite 
natal regions of the North. 

The nest of this species, built on the ground, in the 
mere shelter of some grassy tuft or accidental small bush, 
is made often wholly of the fine stalks of dried grass; 
sometimes it is lined also with horse-hair. The eggs, 5 or 
6, are so thickly sprinkled with ferruginous as to appear 
almost wholly of that color. They raise usually two 
broods in a season in the Middle States. 

Our little bird has a pretty loud and shrill note, which 
may be heard at a considerable distance, and possesses 
some variety of tone and expression. Sometimes it is 
something like twé twée twat, tw ’tw ’tw ’tw tw ’tw *tw, 
beginning loud and slow, and going up and down, shrill 
and quick, with a reverberating tone almost as rapid as the 
drumming of the Ruffed Grous. At other times the sound 
appears like te de de de ded’ d' d d dd dr, rapid and 
echoing ; then weet weet weed wat té’d’d’d’d’d’d, also 
weet weet wect weet’ wt wt’ wt’ wt trr; the whole of these 
notes rising and running together into a short trill, some- 
thing like the song of the Canary, but less varied, and usu- 
ally in a querulous or somewhat plaintive tone, though 
towards the close of summer, I have heard individuals, 
nearly as musical and warbling as the Common Yellow- 
Bird. These tones are also somewhat similar to the rever- 
berations of the Chipping Bird, but quite loud and sonorous, 
and without the changeless monotony of that species. In 
fact, our bird would be worthy a place in a cage as a song- 
ster of some merit. Like most of the Sparrows, the food 
of this species consists of seeds and insects, and they also 


CLAY-COLORZD SPARROW. 579 


search the leaves and branches at times in quest of moths, 
of which they appear fond. 

The Field Sparrow is about 5$ inches long. (In the New England 
male bird) the head is simply chesnut without any dividing line, and 
the brownish tint beneath very obscure, the color being more of a 
dirty white ; the belly, breast, and vent are almost pure white. Above 
chesnut predominates, though the feathers are edged with drab, and 
lined in the centre with dusky ; greater wing-coverts edged and tipt 
with brownish-white ; rump drab, inclined to brown. Tail, from the 
insertion of the rump nearly 3 inches, dusky, forked, and edged with 
whitish. First primary shorter than the 6th, the 3d longest. Bill 
reddish cinnamon-color,a hard knob in the upper mandible as in 
Emlberiza. Legs and feet pale-yellow, scarcely inclining to brown, 
the tarsus 3 of an inch. — In a Pennsylvanian specimen, there is, on 
the head to the occiput, an indistinct grayish median line. 


CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. 


(Fringilla pallida, Novis. Emberiza pallida, Swaixs. North Zool. ii. 
p. 201. Avp. Orn. Biog. 5, p. 66. pl. 398.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Clay-colored brown, striped with blackish; be- 
neath white, unspotted ; the head with 3 pale and 2 blackish macular 
stripes; auriculars brownish. 


Tus species, even smaller than the Emberiza pusilla, 
visits the Saskatchewan in considerable numbers. It fre- 
quents the farm-yard at Carlton House, and is as familiar 
and confident as the common House-Sparrow of England. 
It has much the habit of E. pusilla, which differs however, 
from the present by its more robust and cinnamon-colored 
bill, in the chestnut-brown crown and back, &c. We 
observed this bird only in the prairies, and not in the woods 
in the spring season. It frequents the plains of the Platte, 
to its sources, visits the Colorado of the West, and pro- 
bably descends nearly eastward to the settlements of the 
Missouri. It is very active and shy, keeping in low bushes 


580 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


and on the ground. Its voice is a sharp chirp, and occa- 
sionally a low weak warble. 


Length 5 inches 9 lines ; tail 2 inches 8 lines; wing 24 inches ; 
the bill above 4 lines; tarsus 74 lines. Light clay color, or yellowish 
brown; French grey towards the nape ; in the middle of each feather 
a dark blackish-brown stripe down the middle, not conspicuous on the 
back feathers ; these spots are crowded into two stripes on the head, 
between which is a paler line ; over each eye is another, much more 
conspicuous and whiter. Auricular feathers yellowish-brown, with 
darker edgings, and bordered below with a stripe whiter than the; 
throat. Lesser or smallest wing coverts without spots; the row ad- 
joining the greater coverts black, with whitish tips; the rest of the 
coverts and quills edged with the same. Below white, tinged very 
slightly with grey, and, on the breast and flanks, with clay color. Bill 
and legs yellowish, the ridge and tip of the former umber-brown. In 
the structure and proportion of its wings, feet and tail, it perfectly 
resembles Emberiza scheniculus. 


Subgenus. — PassareLia. (Genus of, Swarns.) 


Bill short and thick, somewhat narrower than the head, almost per- 
feetly conic. 


FERRUGINOUS FINCH. 


(Fringilla iliaca, Merrem. Lata. Avp. Orn. Biog. i. p. 58. pl. 108. 
F. rufa, Wison, il. p. 53. pl. 22. fig. 4. Phil. Museum, No. 6092.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Varied with reddish-brown and grey ; beneath 
white, largely spotted with bright bay and dusky ; tail and coverts 
bright ferruginous. 


Tus large and handsome Sparrow, after passing the 
summer and breeding-season in the northern regions of 
the continent around Hudson’s Bay, and farther north and 
west perhaps to the shores of the Pacific, visits us in strag- 
gling parties or pairs from the middle of October to Novem- 
ber. At this time it frequents low, sheltered thickets in 


BROWN SONG SPARROW. 581 


moist and watery situations, where they usually descend to 
the ground, and are busily employed in scratching up the 
earth and rustling among the fallen leaves in quest of seeds, 
worms, and insects, but more particularly the last. They 
migrate in a desultory manner, and sometimes arrive as far 
south as Georgia, passing the winter in the Southern States, 
and retiring early in the spring to their favorite boreal re- 
treats. They are silent, rather tame, and unsuspicious ; 
when alarmed or separated, their call is simply shep, shep ; 
yet, at times, in the spring, a little before their departure, 
they whisper forth a few low and sweet notes, indicative 
of the existence of vocal powers in the pairing season. 

According to Richardson this species breeds in the 
woody districts of the ur Countries up to the 68th paral- 
le]. ‘The nest is made in a low bush, of dry grass, hair, 
and feathers ; the eggs are 5, of a dull greenish tint, marbled 
with irregular brown spots. The male perched near his 
mate, sings cheerfully and pleasantly. We did not meet 
with this species in the territory of Oregon, its place being 
substituted by the following. 


The Ferruginous Sparrow is about 73 inches long, and 103 in alar 
dimensions. Head and neck cinereous, the feathers margined with 
ferruginous. Wings and tail rust-color, inclined to reddish-brown ; 
Ist and 2d rows of wing-coverts tipt with white. Legs and feet robust, 
brownish-white. Bill stout, dusky, the lower mandible yellowish. 
Irids hazel, 


‘BROWN SONG-SPARROW. 


(Fringilla guttata, Nowis, F. cinerea, Aup, Orn. Biog. 5, p. 22. pl. 
390. fig. 4. [male]. non Guerin.) 
Spec. Cuaracr. — Dark olivaceous-brown; greater wing-coverts ru- 


fous ; a cinereous line over the eye to the nape; cheeks with two 
brown stripes divided by a whitish one ; below white spotted with 


49* 


582 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


brown; bill above dusky, below yellowish-white ; legs brownish- 
flesh color; nail of the hind toe about its length. 


Tuts species, so much allied to Fringilla iliaca by its 
brown color, inhabits the woody districts of the Columbia, 
very generally as far as the sea-coast, and continues as far 
south as Upper California. It is a somewhat familiar and 
agreeable songster, mounting some low bush, and singing, 
at intervals, for hours together, much in the manner of 
the Song Sparrow, but with a sweeter and more varied 
tone. We heard their cheerful notes throughout the sum- 
mer; and every fine day in winter until the month of No- 
vember, particularly in the morning, their song was still 
continued. The nest and eggs are scarcely distinguishable 
from those of the Song Sparrow, the former being chiefly 
formed of dry grass, and lined with finer blades of the 
same, or with deer’s hair. ‘They keep much in low ground 
and alluvial situations, amidst rank weeds, willows and 
brambles, where they are frequently to be seen hopping 
and searching after insects, like so many Wrens or Swamp 
Sparrows, which they so much resemble in plumage. They 
are as usual very solicitous for the safety of their young or 
eggs, keeping up an incessant chirp, and are nearly the 
whole summer like the Song Sparrow, engaged in the 
cares of rearing their young. 


Length 6 inches ; extent of wings 8. Bill dusky, 53-12ths of an inch 
long, the lower mandible pale. Feet and claws pale brown, the hind 
nail scarcely longer than the toe. Feathers of the back dark ferrugin- 
ous with a tint of olive, in the centre chesnut, the wing-coverts ferru- 
ginous, the inner secondaries and tail feathers dusky brown, broadly 
edged with the same. Crown dark brown, mixed with a little grey. 
Over the eye a cinereous line, going down to the nape anterior to the 
eye, white ; cheeks brownish mixed with white ; sides of the throat 
with a brown band, separated from the cheek by a white one ; throat 
white, as well as the middle of the abdomen ; below and sides longi- 
tudinally spotted with chesnut ; rump and sides under the wings pale 


TOWNSEND’S FINCH. 583 


yellowish-brown, streaked with chesnut; tail emarginate, 2} inches 
long ; shoulder of the wing whitish —1st primary more than 4 of an 
inch shorter than the 2d, 3d and 4th longest, and nearly equal. The 
female similar to the male. — This cannot be the F. cinerea, as it is 
not cinereous, nor is the “ chin grey,” or the “ throat cinereous, spot- 
ted with whitish.” Its markings are very similar to those of F. zliaca, 
but it is a much smaller bird, with slender legs, and with the upper 
mandible declinate at the point, &c. 


TOWNSEND’S FINCH. 


(Fringilla Townsendi, Aup. Orn. Biog. v. p. 236. pl. 424. fig. 7. 
[female ].) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark olivaceous-brown, with a tinge of rufous 
conspicuous on the rump and tail; hind toe nail § an inch long ; 
no grey line over the eye. 


Tuts species was collected in the Oregon Territory by 
Mr. Townsend on the 15th of February. It is very nearly 
related to the preceding, but is a larger species, being 7 
inches long, and with an alar extent of 103 inches; it also 
appears to be darker, without the grey line over the eye; 
but spotted beneath, as in the preceding. 


Bill dusky above, the lower mandible yellowish and pale, above 
very deep olivaceous brown, tinged with rufous on the rump, tail, 
margins of the wing-coverts and quills ; a longitudinal band of white 
spots from the angle of the lower mandible. Below white, spotted 
with brown ; lower tail-coverts tinged with yellowish white. 


Subgenus.— Srruruus. (Genus of, Bonar.) 


Tue bill short, rather small, conical acute, slightly declinate at the 
tip. — These birds, very distinct from our other Sparrows in the broad 
and uniform masses of color in their plumage, are still scarcely distin- 


584 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


guishable, as a group, by any characters drawn from the bill, &e. — 
They affect a cool climate, and migrate later than any of our other 
species. 


COMMON SNOW-BIRD. 


(Fringilla hiemalis, Lix. Aun. pl. 13. Orn. Biog. 1. p. 72.  Struthus 
hiemalis, Bonar. p. 31. Niphea hiemalis, Aup. Synops. p. 106. 
F. nivalis, Lin. Witson, ii. p. 129. pl. 16. fig. 6. [in winter plumage.] 
Phil. Museum, No. 6532.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Bluish-black, inclining to grey; belly and lateral 
tail-feathers white. 


Turs hardy and very numerous species, common to both 
continents, pours in flocks from the northern regions into 
the United States about the middle of October, where their 
appearance is looked upon as the presage of approaching 
winter. At this season they migrate into the Southern 
States in great numbers, and seem to arrive in augmenting 
hosts with the progress of the wintry storms and driving 
snows, before which they fly for food rather than shelter ; 
for, even during the descent of the whitening inundation, 
and while the tempest still rages without abatement, these 
hardy and lonely wanderers are often seen flitting before 
the blast; and, seeking advantage from the sweeping cur- 
rent, descend to collect a scanty pittance from the frozen 
and exposed ground, or stop to collect the seeds, which sull 
remain upon the unshorn weeds, rising through the dreary 
waste. At such times they are also frequently accompanied 
by the Snow-Bunting, the humbly-dressed Yellow Bird, and 
the querulous Chicadee. Driven to straits, however, by 
hunger, they at length become more familiar, and are now 
seen about the barns and out-houses, spreading themselves 
in busy groups over the yard, and even approaching the 
steps of the door in towns and cities, and gleaning thank- 


COMMON SNOW-BIRD. 585 


fully from the threshold any crumbs or accidental fragments 
of provision. Amidst all this threatening and starving 
weather, which they encounter almost alone, they are still 
lively, active, and familiar. ‘The roads, presenting an ac- 
cidental resource of food for these northern swarms, are 
consequently more frequented by them than the fields. 
Before the severity of the season commences, they are 
usually only seen moving in families; and the parents, 
watchful for the common safety, still continue by reiterated 
chirpings to warn their full-grown brood of every approach 
of danger, and, withdrawing them from any suspicious ob- 
servation, wander off tosecurer ground. At this time they 
frequent the borders of woods, seek through the thickets and 
among the fallen leaves for their usual food of seeds, and dor- 
mant insects, or their larve. Their caution is not unneces- 
sary, for on the skirts of the larger flocks the famished Hawk 
prowls for his fated prey, and descending, with a sudden and 
successful sweep, carries terror through all the wandering 
and retreating ranks. 

In the latter end of March or beginning of April, as 
the weather begins to be mild, they reappear in flocks 
from the South, frequenting the orchard trees, or retreat- 
ing to the shelter of the woods, and seem now to prefer 
the shade of thickets or the sides of hills, and frequently 
utter a few sweet, clear and tender notes, almost similar to 
the touching warble of the European Robin Red-breast. 
The jealous contest for the selection of mates already also 
takes place; soon after which they retire, to the northern 
regions to breed; though, according to Wilson, many 
remove only to the high ranges of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, where, in the interior of Virginia, and towards the 
western sources of the Susquehanna, they also breed in 
great numbers ; fixing their nests on the ground, or among 
the grass, the pairs still associating in near communion 


586 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


with each other. In the fur countries they were not ob- 
served by Richardson beyond the 57th parallel. 

In Europe this species dwells almost wholly among the 
wild recesses of the Alpine Mountains of Switzerland, the 
Pyrenees, and the high northern chains on the limits of 
the region of perpetual ice! In the winter, less driven by 
necessity, or less encouraged by the inviting scope of an 
extensive continent, they there only migrate into the moun- 
tainous countries, and rarely descend into the plains. 
Their food is also observed to be insects, pine seeds, and 
those of aquatic plants. They likewise nest upon the 
rocks, or in their crevices, and lay 3 to 5 eggs, of a pale 
green, scattered with irregular touches and points of cine- 
reous, blended with spots of dark green. 

Mr. Edward Appleton met with the nests of this species 
in Oswego county, New York. ‘They were made on the 
ground, some with concealed entrances; the eggs were 
about 4, yellowish-white, thickly sprinkled with dots of a 
reddish-brown color. ‘The nests were composed of strips 
of bark, grass roots, and horse hair, lined with fine moss, 
and the soft hair of small quadrupeds. At this period 
they sing sweetly. In July the young are abroad, and at 
this time frequent the whortleberry bushes for their fruit. 


The Snow-Bird is 63 to 7 inches long. The general color is bluish 
or leaden black, inclining to grey; the lower parts from the breast to 
the tail white. Three secondary quills next the body edged with pale 
brown, the primaries with white. Tail dusky, emarginate. Bill 
and legs pale yellowish flesh-color in winter ; in summer the bill is 
black, and the feet brown. Iris bluish-black.— Female and young 
tinged with brown. — By the wearing of the edges of the feathers, 
in the course of the season, the male becomes of a deeper and clearer 
color. 


OREGON ‘SNOW-BIRD. 587 


OREGON SNOW-BIRD. 


(Fringilla oregona, Towns. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. vol. 7. p. 
188. Avp. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 68. pl. 398. fig. 3, 4. Struthus oreganus, 
Bonap. p. 31. Viphe oregona, Aub. Synops. p. 107.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Head, throat and upper portion of the breast, 
black ; back, edges of the tertiaries. and sides beneath the wings, 
dark chesnut ; beneath, and two lateral tail feathers on either side, 
white. — Sexes nearly alike. 


WE first saw this species, (so nearly allied to the Com- 
mon Snow-Bird,) in the forests of the Oregon, in the au- 
tumn and winter, flitting about in small flocks, always in 
the woods, never in the open fields, or by the way-sides. 
At this time they rarely utter an occasional chirp, or 
remain wholly silent. We afterwards saw them inhabiting 
the same woods throughout the summer, in diminished 
numbers, or in pairs, but I do not recollect hearing them 
utter any song, though they are probably not silent in the 
season of breeding. With the nest, eggs, and young I am 
unacquainted. 


Length 64 inchés; wing from the flexure about 3 inches. Bill 
reddish-white, dusky at tip. Feet and claws flesh-colored. Iris 
hazel. Below white, except the sides, which are tinged with brown. 
Fore part of the back dark reddish-brown ; the hind parts dull grey. 
Smaller coverts, secondary coverts and inner secondaries dusky with 
broad light-brown margins. 


Subgenus.— Ammopramus. (Genus of, Swains.) Suore- 
FIncnes. 


Tue bill rather long, but little shorter than the head, straight, rather 
slender, acute, and considerably compressed, with a faint notch. The 
species included in this section are chiefly maritime birds, living and 
feeding much on the ground and amidst rank grass, where they nest. 


588 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


SWAMP SPARROW. 


(Fringilla georgiana, Latu.i. p. 460. No. 86. F. palustris, Witson, 
ili. p. 49. pl. 22. fig. 1. [male.] AuvpuBon, pl. 64. Orn. Biog. i. p. 
331. Phil. Museum, No. 6569.) 


Spec. Coaract.— The Ist primary shorter than the 6th; front black- 
ish ; crown bay, undivided; line over the eye, sides of the neck, 
and breast, ash color; bill robust, dusky, the lower mandible yellow- 
ish towards the base ; legs and feet very stout, the hind nail longer 
than the toe ; tarsus $ of an inch. 


Tue aquatic habits of this common though little known 
species is one of its most remarkable peculiarities. In New 
England they arrive from the Southern States, where they 
winter, about the middle of April, and take up their sum- 
mer residence in the swamps and marshy meadows, through 
which, often, without flying, they thread their devious way 
with the same alacrity as the Rail, with whom they are 
indeed often associated in neighborhood. In consequence 
of this perpetual brushing through sedge and bushes, their 
feathers are frequently so worn that their tails appear al- 
most like those of rats, and are very often flirted in the 
manner of the Wagtail. Occasionally, however, they 
mount to the tops of low bushes or willow trees and chant 
forth a few trilling, rather monotonous minor notes, re- 
sembling, in some measuse, the song of the Field Spar- 
row, and appearing like twé tw’ tw’ tw’ tw’ tw’ twé, and 
twl tw’l ’tw tw’ twé, uttered in a pleasant and somewhat 
varied warble. ‘These notes are made with considerable 
effort, and sometimes with a spreading of the tail. In the 
spring, on their first arrival, this song is delivered with 
much spirit, and echoes through the marshes like the trill 
of the Canary. The sound now resembles the syllables 
’tw ’tw ’tw ’twee ’twee ’tw ’twe ’twe, or ’tshp ’tshp ’tshe ’tsh 
’tsh ’tsh ’tsh, beginning loud, sweet, and somewhat plain- 


SWAMP SPARROW 589 


tive, and the song is continued till late in the morning, 
and after sunset in the evening. This reverberating tone 
is again somewhat similar to that of the Chipping Spar- 
row, but far louder and more musical. In the intervals he 
descends into the grassy tussucks and low bushes in quest 
of his insect food, as well as to repose out of sight; and, 
while here, his movements are as silent and secret as those 
of amouse. ‘The rice plantations and river swamps are 
their favorite hibernal resorts in Louisiana, Georgia, and 
the Carolinas; here they are very numerous, and skulk 
among the canes, reeds, and rank grass, solicitous of con- 
cealment, and always exhibiting their predilection for 
watery places. In the breeding season, before the ripening 
of many seeds, they live much on the insects of the 
marshes in which they are found, particularly the smaller 
coleopterous kinds, Carabi, and Curculiones. They ex- 
tend their northern migrations as far as the coasts of Lab- 
rador and Newfoundland. 

They form their nests in the ground, often in the shel- 
ter of some dry tussuck of sedge or other rank grass, in 
the midst of the watery marsh in which they dwell. Their 
eggs are 4 or 5, of a dirty white, spotted with reddish 
brown. They probably raise 2 or 3 broods in a season, 
being equally prolific with our other Sparrows. They ex- 
press extreme solicitude for their young, even after they 
are fully fledged and able to provide for themselves; the 
young also, in their turn, possess uncommon cunning and 
agility, running and concealing themselves in the sedge of 
the wet meadows. ‘They are quite as difficult to catch as 
field mice, and seldom on these emergencies attempt to 
take wing. We have observed one of these sagacious birds 
dart from one tussuck to another, and at last dive into the 
grassy tuft in such a manner, or elude the grasp so well, as 
seemingly to disappear or burrow into the earth. Their 


50 


590 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


robust legs and feet, as well as long claws, seem purposely 
provided to accelerate this clinging and running on the 
uneven ground. 


The length of the Swamp Sparrow is about 6 inches; (I have 
measured young birds 54,) and about 8 in alar dimensions. The 
crown bright bay, margined behind and in front with blackish ; back- 
of the neck dark grey ; the anterior portion of the line passing over 
the eye is whitish, inclining to ash; chin whitish ; a stripe of black- 
ish proceeds from the lower mandible, and another from the posterior 
angle of the eye. Back blackish-brown, the feathers margined with 
light bay, and some touches of yellowish white ; wing-coverts bright 
bay and a little black, without any edgings of whitish. Wings and 
tail dusky, the primaries edged with brownish-white, the secondaries 
with bay ; 3d and 4th primaries the longest. Belly and vent brown- 
ish-white (in the female nearly white). Bill dusky, the lower man- 
dible yellowish below. Iris dark hazel. Legs very stout and long, 
and, as well as the feet, pale brownish horn-color; claws strong and 
sharp. — Young spotted with black and olive brown, not bay, the 
breast also streaked with dusky. 


SHORE FINCH. 


(Fringilla *littoralis, Nowis. Oriolus caudacutus, Latu. Orn. 1. p. 
186. No. 43. F. caudacuta, Aup. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 289. pl. 149. Wit- 
son, iv. p. 70. pl. 34. fig. 3. Phil. Museum, No. 6442 ) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Two stripes of brownish-orange, inclining to buff 
on each side of the head ; breast pale buff with small blackish spots ; 
tail wedge-shaped with the feathers acute. 


Tue Shore Finch is an inhabitant of the low islands and 
marshy sea-coasts from Massachusetts to Texas, living on 
small shrimps, marine insects, and probably grass seeds, 
moving through the rank herbage nearly with the same 
agility and timidity as the Swamp Sparrow, to which, in 
the structure of the feet and stoutness of the bill, it bears 
considerable affinity. These birds are not rare, though 


SHARP-TAILED FINCH. 591 


not so numerous as the Maritime Sparrow, with which 
they commonly associate. 

These Finches frequent the water, and walk on the 
floating weeds as if on the land; throughout the winter 
they remain gregarious till spring, when they separate for 
the purpose of breeding. They are almost silent, a single 
tweet being now all they are heard to utter; and even in 
the spring so defective are they in melody, that their notes 
are scarcely worthy the name of a song. ‘They nest on 
the ground, amidst the short marsh grass near the line of 
high water mark; a slight hollow is made, and then lined 
with delicate grass. The eggs, 4 to 6, are rather small,- 
dull white, with light brown dots at the greater end, they 
raise two broods in the season in the middle States. 


The Shore Finch is about 54 inches long, and 74 in alar extent. 
Back yellowish-brown olive, some of the feathers edged with semi- 
circles of white. Wing-coverts and tertials brown-black, broadly 
edged with pale rufous. Tail short, wedge-shaped, all the feathers 
sharply pointed. Chin whitish; breast yellowish-white, with pointed 
dark spots; belly white; vent and rump dark buff; the former 
spotted with dusky. From the base of the upper mandible a broad 
stripe of cinereous extends over the crown to the hind-head, bordered 
on either side by one of dusky brown. Bill dusky. Legs pale 
brownish-yellow. Iris hazel. 


+ SHARP-TAILED FINCH. 


(Fringilla caudacuta Latu. Index Ornith, 1. p. 459. No. 85. Emberiza 
Henslowiti ? Avp.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Varied with brown and pale rufous, throat of the 
latter color and a line of the same over the eyes; neck behind 
darkish rufous ; tail even, the feathers sharp-pointed ; bill and legs 
pale. 


Tus species, described by Latham as coming from 
Georgia, appears to possess the same lowly habits as the 


592 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


two preceding species, living chiefly among the grassy 
herbage, and probably near the coast. It has yet, how- 
ever, escaped all our ornithologists. Our Sparrows do not 
change their plumage so much at any period, as to give 
any probability to the opinion, that this bird may bea 
variety of the preceding. Besides, the length of this indi- 
vidual, only 44 inches, is incompatible with the size of 
the Shore Finch. With much doubt it is quoted by Prince 
Bonaparte as a synonyme for Lringilla savanarum; the 
feathers of the tail, however, in this species, are scarcely 
at all pointed. Nearly allied if not identic with Henslow’s 
Bunting. 


SEA-SIDE FINCH. 


(Fringilla maritima, Witson, iv. p. 68. pl. 34. fig. 2. Aupvzon, pl. 
93. Orn. Biog. 1. p. 470.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Stripe over the eye and edge of the shoulder yel- 
low ; breast cinereous; belly white ; vent buff, spotted with dusky; 
tail rounded ; bill rather stout and long. 


Tuts species is not uncommon in the maritime marshy 
grounds, and in the sea islands along the Atlantic coast, 
from Massachusetts to the Southern States. It confines 
its excursions almost wholly within the bounds of the tide- 
water, leaving its favorite retreats for more inland situa- 
tions only after the prevalence of violent easterly storms. 
In quest of marine insects, crustacea, shrimps, and minute 
shell-fish, it courses along the borders of the strand with 
all the nimbleness of a Sandpiper, examining the sea- 
weeds and other exuvie for its fare; it seeks out its prey 
also at dusk, as well as at other times, and usually roosts 
on the ground, like the Lark. In short, it derives its 
whole subsistence from the margin of the ocean; and its 


MACGILLIVRAY’S SHORE FINCH. 593 


flesh is even imbued with the rank or fishy taste to be ex- 
pected from the nature of its food. At other times it 
remains amidst the thickest of the sea-grass, and climbs 
upon the herbage with as much dexterity as it runs on the 
ground. Its feet and legs, for this purpose, are robust, as 
in the Swamp Sparrow. According to Audubon, they 
nest on the ground, in the bushy parts of the salt marshes 
which are elevated above the flow of the tides. This hab- 
itation is made of coarse grass and lined with finer por- 
tions of the same. ‘The eggs are 4 to 6, greyish-white, 
speckled over with brown. ‘They appear to rear two 
broods in the season. In May and June the Sea-Side 
Finch may be seen almost at all hours perched on the top 
of some rank weed near the salt marsh, singing with much 
emphasis the few notes which compose his monotonous 
song. When approached it seeks refuge in the rank grass 
by descending down the stalks, or flies off to a distance, 
flirting its wings, and then alighting suddenly runs off with 
great nimbleness. 


The length of this species is 64 inches. Chin white, bordered by 
a cinereous stripe ; crown brownish-olive, with a stripe of cinereous. 
Above yellowish-brown olive, varied with pale greyish-blue ; greater 
and lesser coverts tipt with dull white ; primaries edged with yellow 
beneath the coverts. Bill dusky above, paler below. Legs and feet 
pale bluish-white. Irids hazel. — The sexes nearly alike. 


MACGILLIVRAY’S SHORE FINCH. 


(Fringilla Macgillivrayi, Novis. Ammodramus Macgillivrayi, Aun. 
Orn. Biog. 11. p. 285, and iv. p. 394. Synops. p. 111.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Crown brownish-black edged with dull greyish- 
brown, without any median line; a yellowish-brown band over 
the eye; throat and abdomen whitish; below pale yellowish-brown 
with dusky streaks ; above as in F’. maritima. 


50* 


594 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Tis rare species, resides in the salt marshes of the 
Southern States and has been met with from Sullivan’s 
island to Texas. They retire from South Carolina, where 
they breed, early in November; many, however, remain 
the whole year on the delta of the Mississippi and in 
Texas. They run among the rankest weeds with great 
celerity ; their notes are few and unmusical, and usually 
uttered early in the morning. 


Length 53 inches, extent of wings 7%, bill along the back 63-12ths, 
tarsus 11-12ths of an inch. Bill dusky, the lower mandible bluish- 
grey. Feet dark brown. Above similar in color to F. maritima, 
and below to F. caudacuta, but darker above and duller beneath than 
either. Nape and back of the same color, the middle of the latter 
having some of the margins of the feathers pale reddish-brown, quills 
hair brown; secondaries dark brown, edged with reddish-brown; 
coverts like the latter, edge of the wing white, slightly tinged with 
yellow. Tail hair-brown at the edges. Throat and fore-neck grey- 
ish-white, with an indistinct dusky streak on each side. Breast and 
sides pale dull yellowish-brown, marked with brownish-black streaks. 
Middle of the breast and abdomen greyish-white tinged with yellow- 
ish-brown. 


§ 11. In these species the palate is scooped and grooved. 
Subgenus. — Carpue.is. Briss. (Seinus, Brehm. Curys- 


omirris, Boie.) 
The bill somewhat lengthened, narrower than the head, straight, and 
compressed ; both mandibles acute ; wings rather long and pointed ; 
Ist, 2d, and 3d quills about equal and longest. 


YELLOW-BIRD, or AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. 


(Fringilla tristis, L. Witson, +. p. 20. pl. L. fig. 2. [male.] Bonap. 
Am. Orn. i. p. 57. pl. 6. fig 4. [female.] Aun. pl. 33. Orn. 1. p. 172.) 


Sp. Cuaracr. — Wings black, varied with white ; tail-feathers black, 
interiorly white towards the tips. — Male, in summer dress, yellow ; 
crown black. — Female, young, and autumnal male, brown-olive ; 
beneath yellowish white. 


YELLOW-BIRD, OR AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. 095 


Tuts common, active, and gregarious Goldfinch is a very 
general inhabitant of the United States. It is also found 
in summer in the remote interior of Canada, in the Fur 
countries and near Lake Winnipique, in the 49th degree of 
latitude, as well as in the remote territory of Oregon and 
the Rocky Mountains, on the banks of Lewis’s River, 
where I found the nest, as usual, with white eggs. On the 
other hand it is also met with in Mexico, and even in 
Guiana and Surinam in tropical America, where they fre- 
quent the savannas. Although many of these birds, which 
spend the summer here, leave at the approach of winter, 
yet hungry flocks are seen to arrive in this part of New 
England throughout that season; and sometimes, in com- 
pany with the Snow Buntings, in the inclement months of 
January and l'ebruary, they may be seen busily employed 
in gleaning a scanty pittance from the seeds of the taller 
weeds, which rise above the deep and drifted snows. As 
late as the 15th of September I have observed a nest of the 
Yellow-bird, with the young still unfledged. Their migra- 
tions are very desultory, and do not probably extend very 
far, their progress being apparently governed principally by 
the scarcity or abundance of food with which they happen 
to be supplied. Thus, though they may be numerous in 
the depth of winter, as soon as the weather relaxes, in the 
month of March, scarcely any more of them are to be seen, 
having at this time, in quest of sustenance, proceeded prob- 
ably to the southern extremity of the United States. Those 
observed in tropical America, may be hibernal wanderers 
from the cooler parts of Mexico. At all events, they select 
the milder climates of the Union, in which to pass the 
breeding season, as at this time they are but rarely seen in 
the Southern States, Kentucky being about the boundary 
of their summer residence. 

Naturally vagrant and wandering, they continue to live 


596 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


in flocks, or in near vicinage, even throughout the greatest 
part of the selective season. As the fine weather of spring 
approaches, they put off their humble winter dress, and the 
males, now appearing in their temporary golden livery, are 
heard tuning their lively songs as it were in concert, several 
sitting on the same tree, enjoying the exhilarating scene, 
basking and pluming themselves, and vying with each other 
in the delivery of their varied, soft, and cheerful warble. 
They have also the faculty of sinking and raising their 
voices in such a delightful cadence, that their music at 
times seems to float on the distant breeze, scarcely louder 
than the hum of bees; it then breaks out, as it were, into 
a crescendo, which rings like the loud song of the Canary. 
In cages, to which they soon become familiar and recon- 
ciled, their song is nearly as sonorous and animated as that 
of the latter. When engaged in quarrel, they sometimes 
hurl about in a whole flock, some, as it were, interfering to 
make peace, others amused by the fray, all uttering loud 
and discordant chirpings. One of their most common 
whining calls, while engaged in collecting seeds in gardens, 
where they seem to be sensible of their delinquency, is, 
"may bé, ’may bé. They have also a common cry like 
tsheveet ’tshevee, uttered in a slender complaining accent. 
These, and some other twittering notes, are frequently 
uttered at every impulse, while pursuing their desultory 
waving flight, rising and falling as they shut or expand 
their laboring wings. ‘They are partial to gardens and do- 
mestic premises, in the latter end of summer and autumn, 
collecting oily seeds of various kinds and shelling them 
with great address and familiarity, if undisturbed often 
hanging and moving about head downwards, to suit their 
convenience, while thus busily and craftily employed. They 
have, like the true Goldfinch, a particular fondness for 
thistle seeds, and those of other compound flowers, spreading 


YELOW-BIRD OR AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. 597 


the down in clouds around them, and at this time feeding 
very silently and intently ; nor are they very easily disturbed 
while thus engaged in the useful labor of destroying the 
germs of these noxious weeds. ‘They do some damage 
occasionally in gardens, by their indiscriminate destruction 
of lettuce and flower seeds, and are therefore often disliked 
by gardeners; but their usefulness, in other respects, far 
counterbalances the trifling injuries they produce. They 
are very fond, also, of washing and bathing themselves in 
mild weather; and as well as tender buds of trees, they 
sometimes collect the Confervas of springs and brooks as a 
variety to their usual fare. 

They raise sometimes two broods in the season, as their 
nests are found from the first week in July to the middle of 
September. The nests are often built in tall young forest 
trees or lofty bushes, as in the sugar maple, elm, spice-bush, 
and cornel. ‘They are made of strips of bass, hemlock 
bark, and root fibres, with a filling, at times, of withered 
downy stalks of apple-tree leaves, old oak catkins, and 
other softish rubbish; then bedded and lined within with 
thistle down, the pappus of the button-wood (Platanus), or 
sometimes cow-hair, and fine bent-grass. A few lint-threads 
of Indian hemp and caterpillars’ silk, are occasionally thrown 
over the exterior materials, and agglutinated to them for the 
purpose of more securely holding the whole together. They 
never make use of any external patches of lichen, nor use 
this substance in any manner; and the eggs, 3 to 5, are 
white, without any spots. ‘This description is taken from 
8 nests of the same bird, which, with 3 or 4 more not in- 
spected, were all made towards the close of summer, chiefly 
in the Botanic Garden at Cambridge. In 183] I examined 
several more nests agreeing with the above description ; and 
from the late period at which they begin to breed, it is im- 
possible that they can ever act in the capacity of nurses to 


598 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the Cow Troopial. This procrastination appears to be oc» 
casioned by the lack of sufficiently nutritive diet, the seeds 
on which they principally feed not ripening usually before 
July. 


Length 5 inches ; of a rich lemon-yellow, but nearly white on the 
rump and vent, and a little paler on the upper part of the back. The 
crown, wings, and tail, black; the shoulder and its coverts olive- 
yellow, fading into white; the greater coverts and tertials tipt and 
edged with white; the tail haudsomely forked, with the feathers 
acute at the points, and shaded off into white on the inner webs 
towards their tips. The bill and legs pale reddish-yellow, the latter 
much fainter.— In the month of September the male moults into a 
new and humble dress of brownish olive, nearly similar to that of the 
female ; the wing-coverts and tertials are now edged with white, 
slightly tinged with rufous. At this time, the bill and feet are 
brownish. Some males are provided with a white wing-spot, visible 
only when the coverts are elevated. 


BLACK HEADED GOLDFINCH. 


(Fringilla magellanica. Vie1tu. Aud. Orn. Biog. v. p. 46. pl. 394, 
[male.] ) 


Sp. Cnaract.— Head and throat black ; above yellowish-green ; 
below greenish-yellow ; wings black, with two bands of yellowish- 
green and a spot of yellow; tail black towards the end. 


Five males of this species were observed at Henderson, 
on the Ohio, one cold morning in December, by Audubon, 
feeding on the heads of some sun-flowers. ‘Two of them 
were obtained, but none of the species were ever seen since 


by him. Their notes resembled those of the Pine we 


but their flight and manner of feeding resembled thyts 
the common Yellow Bird. 


Length 43 inches. Bill dusky, feet and claws reddish-brown ; 
rump and lower parts greenish-yellow ; a conspicuous band of yellow 
on the basal portion of all the quills, most of which are margined 
toward the end with the same. Tail yellow at the base, black to- 
ward the end. 


ARKANSA SISKIN. 599 


ARKANSA SISKIN. 


(Fringilla psaltria, Say. Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 54. pl. 6. fig. 3. 
[male]. Avup. Orn. Biog. v. p. 85. pl. 400. Phil. Museum, No. 
6278.) 


Sp. Cuaract. — Olivaceous ; beneath wholly yellow; crown, wings 
and tail black; a white wing-spot; lesser wing-coverts dusky 
olive ; 3 outer tail-feathers white on the middle of the inner web. 
black at tip. 


Tis species, first described by Mr. Say, was met with 
in the month of July, near the base of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, south of the river Platte, and probably exists in Mex- 
ico. Individuals of this rare species have been obtained, 
in Louisiana, at insular periods, by Audubon. As usual, 
it lives in trees and bushes, sings sweetly, and much in the 
manner of the Yellow-Bird. The specimen was a male; 
the female, and any other vesture of plumage, are un- 
known. 


The Arkansa Siskin is 44 inches long; extent of wings, 8 inches. 
Crown black ; cheeks dusky olive ; neck, back, and rump olivaceous, 
mingled with dusky and yellowish; upper tail-coverts black, varied 
with olive. Beneath pure yellow. Wings brownish-black, smaller 
wing coverts the same, but slightly tinged with blue and edged with 
olive; greater wing-coverts tipt with white, forming a bar across the 
wing ; 3d to the 7th primaries white towards the base, producing a 
white spot beyond the coverts ; first 4 primaries nearly equal, 5th 
shorter; the secondaries broadly margined with white exteriorly 
towards their tips. Tail blackish, slightly emarginated, edged with 
dull whitish ; the three exterior feathers pure white on the middle of 
their inner vanes. Bill yellowish, tipt with blackish. Feet flesh- 
color. Irids dark brown. 


600 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


YARRELL’S GOLDFINCH. 


(Fringilla Yarrelliit, Noxwis. Carduelis Yarrellii, Aup. Syn. p. 117. 
Mexican Goldfinch, F. Mexicana, Is. Orn. Biog. 5. p, 282 pl. 433. 
fig. 4, 5.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Crown black; bill very thick ; above yellowish- 
green; nape and rump yellow; wings and tail brownish-black, the 
former with two bands, basal band broad and yellow ; below yel- 
low. — Female, above yellowish-green ; below dull greenish-yel- 
low ; no black on the head. 


Att that is known of this species is that it inhabits Up- 
per California, and may therefore also accur in the Oregon 
Territory. It appears to be allied to the Arkansa Siskin, 


Length a little over 4 inches; in the male, wing from the flexure 
24 inches. Bill flesh-colored, somewhat dusky above. Feet and 
claws yellowish-brown. Wings with two bands, the upper one 
greenish-yellow, the other bright yellow, and broad on the bases 
of the primary and secondary quills. Tail half way yellow, below 
bright yellow ; 2d quill longest, 3d a little longer than the Ist. 


STANLEY GOLDFINCH. 


(Fringilla Stanley, Novis. Carduelis Stanleyi, Aup. Synops. p. 118.) 


Spec. Cuaracr.— Crown black ; bill thick ; above yellowish-green, 
faintly streaked with dusky, inclining to greenish-yellow on the 
rump. Wings and tail black; the former, crossed by two bands, 
basal band broad and yellow; below greenish yellow, passing into 
white on the abdomen.— Female, above dull yellowish-green, 
faintly streaked with dusky, paler beneath. 


Brovenr from Upper California, and may probably pass 
into Oregon. 


Length 43 inches, alar extent 2 10-12th inches. 2d and 3d quills 
equal, the Ist a little shorter; wings with 2 bands, the upper one 


PINE FINCH. 601 


greenish-yellow, arising from the tips of the first row of small coverts ; 
tail yellow on its basal third, except on the middle feather ; feathers 
on the throat black at the base ; lower tail-coverts yellow, tipped with 
white, and having a central, dusky streak. 


Subgenus. — Linarra. (Bechst.) Linners. 


Bitt conic, short, and obtuse, 


PINE FINCH. 


(Fringilla pinus, Witson, ii. p. 133. pl. 57. fig. 1. [winter plumage.] 
Avp. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 455. pl. 180. Phil. Museum, No. 6577.) 
Spec. Cuaract. — Dark flaxen, spotted with blackish; wings black, 


with 2 yellowish-white bars; shafts of the quills yellow; lateral 
tail feathers yellow on the lower half. 


Our acquaintance with this littie northern Goldfinch is 
very unsatisfactory. It visits the Middle States in Novem- 
ber, frequents the shady, sheltered borders of creeks and 
rivulets, and is particularly fond of the seeds of the hemlock 
tree. Among the woods, where these trees abound, they 
assemble in flocks, and contentedly pass away the winter. 
Migrating for no other purpose but subsistence, their visits 
are necessarily desultory and uncertain. My friend, Mr. 
Oakes, of Ipswich, has seen them in large flocks in that 
vicinity in winter. With us they are rare, though their fa- 
vorite food is abundant. ‘They are by no means shy, and 
permit a near approach without taking alarm, often flutter- 
ing among the branches in which they feed, hanging some- 
times by the cones, and occasionally uttering notes very 
similar to those of the American Goldfinch, Early in March 
they proceed to the North, and my friend Audubon observ- 
ed them in families, accompanied by their young, in Labra- 

ol | 


602 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


dor, in the month of July. They frequented low thickets 
in the vicinity of water, and were extremely fearless and 
gentle. ‘Their summer plumage, as we have since also 
found in the Oregon Territory, where they abound and 
breed, is entirely similar to the garb in which they visit us 
in the winter, with the sole exception that the yellow of the 
wings Is brighter. 

They sing on the wing in the manner of the Goldfinch. 
Their notes are clear, lively, and mellow, like as in that 
bird, but still sufficiently distinct; they fly out in the same 
graceful, deep curves, emitting also the common call note at 
every effort to proceed. 


The length of this species is said to be 43 inches; and the alar ex- 
tension 84. Rump and tail-coverts yellowish, spotted with dark 
brown; sides, under the wings, cream-color, with long streaks of 
black ; breast light flaxen, with small pointed spots of blackish. Bill 
dull horn-color. Legs purplish-brown. Irids hazel. 


LESSER RED-POLL. 


(Fringilla linaria, Lx. Witson, iv. p. 42. pl. 30. fig. 4. [young male.] 
and ix. p. 126. Avp. Orn. Biog. iv. p. 533. pl. 357. Linaria mi- 
nor, Swans. Phil. Museum, No. 6579.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Above greyish, inclined to rufous, and spotted 
with dusky ; below, and rump, pale crimson, approaching to white 
on the vent ; crown deep crimson ; frontlet and chin black ; wings 
and tail dusky ; bill very sharply and slenderly pointed. — Female 
without red on the rump, the throat black; the breast generally 
whitish ; belly with large dusky spots.— In the young, the space 
round the bill is cinereous, the lower parts pale rufous, and spotted, 
with two rufous bands upon the wing. 


Tuts elegant species, which only pays us occasional 
and transient winter visits, at distant intervals, is an inhab- 
itant of the whole arctic circle to the confines of Siberia, 


LESSER RED-POLL. 603 


and is found in Kamtschatka and Greenland, as well as 
the colder parts of Europe. Arriving in roving flocks from 
the northern wilds of Canada, they are seen, at times, in 
the western parts of the state of New York with the fall of 
the first deep snow, and occasionally proceed eastward to 
the very city of New York, where, in the depth of winter, 
and for several weeks, they have been seen gleaning their 
scanty food, of various kinds of seeds, in the gardens of the 
town and suburbs. F locks are likewise sometimes seen in 
the vicinity of Philadelphia in severe winters, though at re- 
mote periods, as, according to Mr. Ord, they have not vis- 
ited that part of Pennsylvania since the winter of 1813-14, 
They appear very unsuspicious while feeding in the gar- 
dens, or on the seeds of the alder-bush, one of their favorite 
repasts, and thus engaged, allow a near approach while 
searching for their food in every posture, and sometimes 
head downwards. They are also fond of the seeds of the 
pine, the linden, and rape, and in the winter sometimes 
content themselves even with the buds of the alder. Ac- 
cording to Mr. GQidman, about Michaelmas they migrate 
from Sweden in flocks of more than 200 individuals, which 
are found all to be males. Wilson believed he heard this 
species utter a few interrupted notes, but nothing satisfac- 
tory is known of its vocal powers. Mr. Ord remarks, that 
their call much resembles that of the Common Yellow-Bird, 
to which, indeed, they are allied. They are said to breed 
in the Highlands of Scotland, and to select the heath and 
furze for the situation of their nests; though they more 
commonly choose alder-bushes and the branches of the 
pine. The nest, almost like that of the Yellow-Bird, is 
composed of stalks of dried grass, intermixed with tufts of 
wool, and warmly lined with hair and feathers. The eggs, 
about 5, are of a bluish-white, varied with numerous red- 
dish spots disposed at the larger end. A nest, on an alder 


604 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


stump, has been found in the South of England, according 
to Latham, on which the bird sat with so much tenacity as 
to suffer herself to be taken off by the hand, and when re- 
leased would not forsake it. 

According to Richardson, this is one among the few 
hardy and permanent residents in the fur countries, where 
it may be seen in the coldest weather, on the banks of lakes 
and rivers, hopping among the reeds and carices, or cling- 
ing to their stalks. They are numerous throughout the 
year, even in the most northern districts, and from the rarity 
of their migrations into the United States, it is obvious that 
they are influenced by no ordinary causes to evacuate the 
regions in which they are bred. Famine in all probability, 
or the scarcity of food urges them to advance towards the 
south. It is certain that they do not forsake their natal 
regions to seek shelter from the cold. This season, by the 
7th or 8th of November (1833,) before the occurrence of 
any extraordinary cold weather, they arrived in this vicinity 
(Cambridge, Mass.) in considerable flocks, and have not 
paid a visit to this quarter before, to my knowledge, for 10 
or 12 years. They now regularly assemble in the birch 
trees every morning to feed on their seeds, in which em- 
ployment they are so intent, that it is possible to advance 
to the slender trees in which they are engaged, and shake 
them off by surprise before they think of taking wing. 
They hang upon the twigs with great tenacity, and move 
about while feeding in reversed postures like the Chick- 
adees. After being shot at, they only pass on to the next 
tree and resume their feeding as before. They have a 
quailing call perfectly similar with that of the Yellow-Bird 
(Fringilla tristis), twée twée, or tshe-vée ; and when crowd- 
ing together in flight, make a confused chirping *twit *itwit 
‘twit *twit ’twit, with a rattling noise, and sometimes go off 
with a simultaneous twitter. Occasionally they descend 


MEALY RED-POLL. 605 


from their favorite birches and pick up sun-flower seeds 
and those of the various weedy Chenopodiums growing in 
wastes. At length they seemed attracted to the Pines, by 
the example of the Crossbills and were busily employed in 
collecting their seeds. As the weather becomes colder 
they also roost in these sheltering evergreens; and confused 
flocks are seen whirling about capriciously in quest of fare, 
sometimes descending on the fruit trees, to feed on their 
buds, by way of variety. ‘Though thus urged from their 
favorite regions in the north there appeared no obvious 
reason for their movements, as we found them fat, and not 
driven te migrate from any imminent necessity. 


A smaller variety of this bird sometimes is seen in whole compa- 
nies. The usual length is about 54 inches. Upon the flanks and in- 
ferior coverts of the tail are some longitudinal blackish spots. Wings 
and tail black, the quills edged with greyish rufous; the former with 
two transverse bands. Bill yellow; black at the point. Feet brown. 
In the female only part of the crown is carmine. 


MEALY RED-POLL. 


(Fringilla borealis, Sav1. Temm. Avp. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 87. pl. 400. f. 2. 
[male]. Linaria borealis, Iz. Synops. p. 114.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dusky streaked with brownish white ; lower parts 
and rump greyish-white ; two bands on the wings; crown crimson ; 
cheeks, sides, and part of the rump pale carmine ; frontal band, 
lores and throat, black ; legs and feet black. — Female, with the 
black on the forehead and throat tinged with brown: the red patch 
on the crown small, and the sides and rump without red. 


Tuts species, so nearly allied to the last, is met with 
partly in the same remote boreal regions in the summer, 
but is of much more rare occurrence; it is also found in 
the territory of Oregon, and stragglers have been obtained 
as far south as New Jersey and New York. In Maine they 

51* 


606 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


are less rare. ‘They have a note very similiar to the last 
species, but distinct. They are full of activity and caprice 
while engaged in feeding, making wide circles and deep 
undulations in their flight. Like Titmice also they fre- 
quently feed and hang to the twigs in reversed postures. 


Length 54 inches, extent of wings 9. Bill yellow, with the ridge 
dusky. Iris brown. Feet and claws black. Upper part of the head 
crimson ; hind part of the back and rump nearly white tinged with 
rose color; the lower parts greyish-white, the sides streaked with 
dusky. Wings and tail dusky, with greyish-white edges. 


Subgenus. — Pirito. (Genus of, Viertu.) Grounp 
FINcHEs. 


Biz conic, thick, compressed, acute, with the {borders a little in- 
flated, tip declinate. Wings moderate. Tail long, wide, and rounded. 
Tarsus rather long and robust. — Known better by their habits, than 
by any well marked generic character. They keep much on the 
ground, where they also nest, scratching up the soil and fallen leaves 
for insects and seeds ; of almost uniform dark and plain colors, with- 
out spots. 


GROUND ROBIN, or TOWWEE FINCH. 


(Fringilla erythrophthalma, Lix. Aup. 1. p. 151. pl. 29. Emberiza ery- 


throphthalma, Witson, ii. p. 35. pl. 10. fig. 5. Phil. Museum, No. 
5970.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Black ; belly white; flanks and vent bay ; tail 
rounded, 4 outer feathers partly white ; a white spot on the wing 
below the coverts, and an interrupted white margin on the prima- 
ries ; bill black. — Female, olive-brown where the male is black, 
the head and throat inclining to chesnut ; (as in the young male) 3 
only of the lateral tail-feathers are marked with white. — Youngish 
male with the outer primary partly edged with white, and with the 
narrow white spots on the three inner tertials partly obsolete, or 
tinged with brown. 


Tuts is a very common, humble, and unsuspicious bird, 
dwelling commonly in thick dark woods and their borders, 


608 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


flying low, and frequenting thickets near streams of water, 
where it spends much time in scratching up the withered 
leaves for worms and their larve, and is particularly fond 
of wire-worms (or Juli), as well as various kinds of seeds 
and gravel. Its rustling scratch among the leafy carpet of 
the forest is, often, the only indication of its presence, 
excepting now and then a call upon its mate (tow-wee, 
tow-wee, tow-weet,) with which it is almost constantly asso- 
ciated. While thus busily engaged in foraging for subsist- 
ence, it may be watched and approached without showing 
any alarm; and taking a look often at the observer, without 
suspicion, it scratches up the leaves as before. This call 
of recognition Is uttered in a low and somewhat sad tone, 
and if not soon answered, it becomes louder and interroga- 
tory, tow-wee towee ? and terminates often with téweet. 
They are accused of sometimes visiting the pea-fields to 
feed, but occasion no sensible damage. 

In the pairing season, and throughout the period of incu- 
bation, the male frequently mounts to the top of some bush 
amidst the thickets, where he usually passes the time, and 
from hence, in a clear and sonorous voice, chants forth his 
simple guttural and monotonous notes for an hour or so at 
a time, while his faithful mate is confined to her nest. 
This quaint and somewhat pensive song often sounds like, 
t'sh’d witée té té té té té, or *bid-wi teé, tr tr ’tr’tr, the 
latter part a sort of quaint and deliberate quivering trill; 
sometimes it sounds like ‘bid tsherr ’rh rh, rrh ’wt, then 
wee twee t’ tsher’ r’r, also et se ya, ya’ya’ya ya "ya, 
the latter notes, attempted to be expressed by whistled and 
contracted consonant syllables, are trilled with this sound. 

The Ground Robin, sometimes also called T'she-wink 
and Pee-wink from another of its notes, is a general in- 
habitant of Canada and the United States, even to the 
base of the Rocky Mountains, and the peninsula of Florida, 


GROUND ROBIN, OR TOWWEE FINCH. 609 


in all of which regions, except the last, with Louisiana 
and the contiguous countries, they pass the summer and 
rear their young, migrating however, from the Northern 
and Middle States in October, and returning again about 
the middle or close of April, according to the advancement 
of the season, at which time, also, the males usually precede 
the arrival of their mates. ‘They pass the winter generally 
to the south of Pennsylvania, and are then very abundant in 
all the milder states in the Union. 

They are said to show some address at times in conceal- 
ing their nest, which is fixed on the ground, in a dry and 
elevated situation, and sunk beneath the surface among the 
fallen leaves, sometimes under the shelter of a small bush, 
thicket, or briar. According to the convenience of the 
site, it is formed of different materials, sometimes, according 
to Wilson, being made of leaves, strips of grape-vine bark, 
lined with fine stalks of dry grass, and occasionally in part 
hidden with hay or herbage. Most of the nests in this 
vicinity are made in solitary dry pine woods, without any 
other protection than some small bush, or accidental fallen 
leaves ; and the external materials, rather substantial, are 
usually slightly agglutinated strips of red-cedar bark, or 
withered grass with a neat lining of the same and fallen 
pine leaves ; the lining sometimes made wholly of the latter. 
The nest is also at times elevated from the ground by a 
layer of coarse leaf-stalks, such as those of the hickory. 
The eggs are 4 or 5, white with a tinge of flesh-color, 
thickly spotted with reddish-brown of two shades, rather 
more numerous towards the larger end. The first brood 
are raised early in June, and a second is often observed in 
the month of July ; but in this part of New England they 
seldom raise more than one. ‘The pair show great solicitude 
for the safety of their young, fluttering in the path, and 
pretending lameness, with loud chirping when their nest is 
too closely examined. 


610 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


The Towwee Finch is about 8 inches in length; and 11 in alar di- 
mensions. Vent pale bay ; a few spots at times on the sides of the 
bay of the breast. The wing in the adult and perfect male has the 
Ist primary wholly black. The next 3 with an interrupted white 
edging, about 4 an inch in extent, running down across the wing; 
the white spot below, and just over the bastard wing, stretches over 
the lower part of the 6 primaries after the Ist ; there are then 3 linear, 
irregular, white blotches on the outer webs of the 3 tertials next to 
the body; in the younger males, even of the 2d season, these last 
spots resemble a mere rufous-white edging, and the upper straggling 
Wing-spot extends now over the edges of the 5 primaries after the 
first. The Ist primary is short, and the 3d, 4th, and 5th are nearly of 
equal length, and longest, with the 6th but little shorter. The tail is 
long (about 33 inches), and the first 3 feathers on either side are reg- 
ularly graduated. The legs and feet are pale flesh-color, and remark- 
ably stout, with the claws very long. 


ARCTIC GROUND FINCH. 


(Fringilla arctica, Nozwis. Aup. Orn. Biog. v. p. 49. pl. 394. f. 4,5; 
Pyrgita, (Pirito) arctica, Swans. North. Zool. ii. p. 260. pl. 51, 52.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — With the head, neck, and upper plumage blackish 
(in the female ferruginous-brown ;) back, scapulars, and wing coy- 
erts striped with white; Ist and 8th quills nearly equal in length. 


Tuis handsome Ground-Finch was observed only on the 
plains of the Saskatchewan, where it no doubt breeds, as 
one specimen was killed late in July. It arrives about the 
close of May, and frequents shady and moist woods, where 
it is generally seen on the ground. Its habits, in short, cor- 
respond with those of the Towhe Bunting, which it so much 
resembles in external appearance. It feeds much on larve, 
and is a solitary and retired, but not a distrustful bird. 

We found this familiar bird entirely confined to the 
western side of the Rocky Mountains. Like the Common 
Towee, it is seen to frequent the forests amidst bushes and 
thickets, where, flitting along or scratching up the dead 


ARCTIC GROUND FINCH, 611 


leaves, it seems intent on gaining a humble livelihood. It 
is at the same time, much more shy than the common kind, 
when observed flying off or sculking in the thickest places, 
where it is with difficulty followed. In a few minutes, 
however, the male, always accompanying his mate, creeps 
out, and at first calls in a low whisper of recognition, when, 
if not immediately answered, he renews his plaintive pay 
pay, or pay payay, until joined by her; but, if the nest be 
invaded, he comes out more boldly, and reiterates his com- 
plaint, while there remains around him the least cause of 
alarm. When undisturbed, during the period of incubation, 
he frequently mounts a low bush in the morning, and utters 
at short intervals, for an hour at a time, his monotonous and 
quaint warble, which is very similar to the notes of the 
Towee ; but this latter note (fowee) so often reiterated by 
our humble and familiar Ground Robin, is never heard in 
the western wilds, the present species uttering in its stead 
the common complaint, and almost mew of the Cat Bird. 
On the 14th of June, I found the nest of this species, 
situated in the shelter of a low shrub on the ground in a 
depression scratched out for its reception. It was com- 
posed of a rather copious lining of clean wiry grass, with 
some dead leaves beneath as a foundation ; the eggs were 
4, nearly hatched, very closely resembling those of the 
Towee, thickly spotted over, but more so at the larger end, 
with very small, round, and numerous redish chocolate spots. 
As usual, the pair showed great solicitude about their nest, 
the male in particular approaching boldly to scold and la- 
ment at the intrusion. This species extends into Upper 
California, and is occasionally seen there with the brown 
species of Swainson, Pipilo fusca. 


The length about 8 inches 9 lines; the tail 4 inches; the folded 
wing 34 inches; the bill above about § an inch; the tarsus 1 inch 1 
line. The head, neck, above and below, scapulars, interscapulars, all 


612 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the wing coverts, and tail, pitch-black; some of the breast feathers 
fringed with white. A pure white stripe, half the breadth of the 
web, on the outer edge of each of the scapulars and interscapulars, and 
the greater and lesser coverts tipped with the same. The 3 exterior 
pairs of tail feathers tipped internally with an oval patch of white, 
the outter pair also edged with white. Quills hair-brown, the 2d to 
the 4th inclusive partially edged with an oblique white line, the rest 
narrowly edged with light French grey. Middle of the breast and 
belly pure white. Sides, flanks, and under tail coverts deep and 
bright ferruginous. Inner wing coverts greyish-white. Bill black. 
Legs pale brown. 

This species differs from F. erythrophthalma in having a smaller 
bill, with the ridge less arched, the claws are also more slender, some- 
what longer and obviously less curved. The tarsi are less robust, 
and one tenth of an inch shorter. The Ist quill feather is mani- 
festly longer, the Ist and 8th quill feathers are nearly equal in length ; 
whereas in the Common Ground-Robin the Ist quill is scarcely equal 
to several of the secondaries. — Notre. The Pipilo maculata, Swatn- 
son, of Mexico approaches very near to the present. 


CARDINALIS. (Bonar.) CARDINAL BIRDS. 


Birt robust, higher than} broad, tapering to a narrow and deflected 
point; the upper mandible smaller convex and with an indistinct 
dorsal ridge ; lower mandible involute on the edges, acute at the tip. 
Nostrils basal, round, concealed by the advancing bristles ; 4th and 
5th quills longest. Taillong and rounded. Tongue as high as broad, 
convex and pointed. — Of this genus, closely allied to Coccathraustes, 
we have but a single species remarkable for the brilliance of its 
plumage and fine bold fifing voice. It generally dwells amongst 
thickets or low trees near streams, and scarcely migrates beyond the 
Middle States. 


q 


i} 
WY 

ih 
} 


SSS 


=—= 


—S 


— 


CARDINAL BIRD. 


(Cardinalis Virginianus, Bonar. p. 35. Fringilla cardinalis, In. Aun. 
Orn. ii. p. 336. pl. 159. Lozia cardinalis, Lix, Wixson, ii. p. 38. pl. 
11. f. 1 and 2.) 

o2 


614 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Spec, Cuaract.— Crested, scarlet, beneath brighter; capistrum and 
throat black ; bill coral red.— Female and young, drab; beneath 
reddish drab; tip of the crest, wings, and tail, red; capistrum 
and chin cinereous. 


Tuts splendid and not uncommon songster chiefly oc- 
cupies the warmer and more temperate parts of the United 
States from New York to Florida, and a few stragglers even 
proceed as far to the north as Salem in Massachusetts. 
They also inhabit the Mexican provinces,* and are met 
with south as far as Carthagena; adventurously crossing 
the intervening ocean, they are likewise numerous in the 
little temperate Bermuda islands, but do not apparently 
exist in any of the West Indies. As might be supposed, 
from the range already stated, the Red Bird is not un- 
common throughout Louisiana, Missouri, and Arkansas 
Territory. Most of those which pass the summer in the 
cooler and Middle States retire to the South at the com- 
mencement of winter; though a few linger in the sheltered 
swamps of Pennsylvania and near the shores of the Dela- 
ware almost through the winter. They also, at this season, 
probably assemble towards the sea-coast from the west, in 
most of the Southern States, where roving and sculking 
timid families are now seen flitting silently through thickets 
and swampy woods, eager alone to glean a scanty subsist- 
ence, and defend themselves from prowling enemies. At 
all times, however, they appear to have a pedilection for 
watery groves, and shaded running streams, abounding 
with evergreens and fragrant magnolias, in which they are 
so frequent as to be almost concomitant with the scene. 
But though they usually live only in families or pairs, and at 
all times disperse into these selective groups, yet in severe 
weather, at sunset, in South Carolina, I observed a flock 
passing to a roost in a neighboring swamp and bushy 


* In the month of March Mr. Bullock saw them round Vera Cruz. 


CARDINAL GROSBEAK, OR RED-BIRD. 515 


lagoon, which continued, in lengthened file, to fly over my 
head at a considerable height for more than 20 minutes 
together. The beautiful procession, illumined by the last 
rays of the setting sun, was incomparably splendid as the 
shifting shadowy light at quick intervals flashed upon their 
brilliant livery. They had been observed to pass in this 
manner to their roost for a considerable time, and, at day- 
break, they were seen again to proceed and disperse for 
subsistence. How long this timid and gregarious habit 
continues, I cannot pretend to say; but by the first week 
in February, the song of the Red Bird was almost daily 
heard. As the season advances, roving pairs, living, as it 
were, only with and for each other, flit from place to place ; 
and following also their favorite insect or vegetable fare, 
many proceed back to the same cool region in which they 
were bred, and from which they were reluctantly driven; 
while others, impelled by interest, caprice, and adventure, 
seek to establish new families in the most remote limits of 
their migration. Some of these more restless wanderers 
occasionally, though rarely, favor this part of New England 
with a visit. After listening with so much delight to the 
lively fife of the splendid Cardinal, as I travelled alone 
through the deep and wild solitudes which prevail over the 
Southern States, and bid, as I thought, perhaps an eternal 
adieu to the sweet voice of my charming companions, 
what was my surprise and pleasure, on the 7th of May, to 
hear, for the first time in this State, and in the Botanic 
Garden, above an hour together, the lively and loud song 
of this exquisite vocalist, whose voice rose above every 
rival of the feathered race, and rung almost in echoes 
through the blooming grove in which he had chosen his 
retreat. In the Southern States, where they every where 
breed, they become familiarly attached to gardens, which, 
as well as corn-fields, afford them a ready means of sub- 


516 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


sistence; they are also fond of the seeds of most of 
the orchard fruits, and are said occasionally to prey upon 
bees. | 

The lay of the Cardinal is a loud, mellow, and pleas- 
ingly varied whistle, delivered with ease and energy for a 
considerable time together. To give it full effect, he 
chooses the summit of some lofty branch, and elevating 
his melodious voice in powerful as well as soothing and 
touching tones, he listens, delighted, as it were, with the 
powers of his own music, at intervals answered and en- 
couraged by the tender responses of his mate. It is thus 
the gilded hours of his existence pass away in primeval de- 
light, until care and necessity break in upon his contem- 
plative reveries, and urge him again to pursue the sober 
walks of active live. 

The song of the Red Bird, like that of so many others, 
though possessed of great originality, often consists in part, 
of favorite borrowed and slightly altered phrases. It 
would be a difficult and fruitless task to enumerate all 
the native notes delivered by this interesting songster ; 
a few may be perhaps excused by those who wish, in 
their rural walks, to be made, in any way, acquainted 
with the language of the feathered vocalists that surround 
them. All the tones of the Cardinal are whistled much in 
the manner of the human voice. Late in February, 
while travelling in Alabama, I heard one crying woolit, 
wolit wolit wolit, then in a quicker tone butsh butsh butsh 
butsh, and *tshooway tshooway tshooway. At another time 
the song was ‘wit a’wit, ’téu ; then tshevi tsheve ’tét, ’whoit 
“whoit ’whoit tet (the ’whoit an exact human whistle, and 
the 2% tenderly emphatic.) Another bird called, téo téo 
téo, tshooé, tshooe tshooe tshooe, then teo teo teo teo alone, or 
~poit woit woit ’woit, with the last word delivered slower, 
and in a sinking, delicately plaintive tone. ‘These phrases 


CARDINAL GROSBEAK, OR RED-BIRD. 617 


were also answered in sympathy by the female, at a little 
distance up the meandering brook where they were engag- 
ed in collecting their food. In Florida, about the 12th 
of March, I heard a very fine Red Bird singing ’whittoo 
wittoo widoo ’widdoo. He be began low, almost in a whis- 
per, but very clearly articulated, and gradually raised 
his voice to loudness, in the manner of the Nightingale. 
He now changed the strain into ’victu, wilt wilt wilt wilt ; 
then ’victu, tshooé ’tshdoe tshdoe tshdoe, afterwards tu tu 
’yictu, and victu tu tu, then varying ’tshdoee, &c. in a 
lower key. On approaching this bird, to see and hear him 
more distinctly, he exhibited his anger, by scolding in a 
hoarse tone almost like that of a squirrel, and from the 
season, and absence of respondence in the female, I ima- 
gine he already had a nest in the neighboring thicket. 
The bird which frequented the Botanic Garden for several 
days, in the morning sang fearlessly and loudly, but at 
other times the pair hid themselves amongst the thickest 
bushes, or descended to the ground to feed among the 
grass and collect insects and worms; now and then, 
however, in an under-tone, as if afraid of attracting no- 
tice, he whispered to his mate, tew teu téu, woit ’woit wort, 
elevating his tone of recognition a little at the close of 
the call, and going over other of the usual phrases in the 
same whispering and slenderly rising voice. About the 
4th of July, the same pair, apparently, paid us a parting 
visit, and the male sung with great energy, ’tv’ tw’, ’wéto 
’weto "wetd ’weto ’wetd wait, then waitup waitip waitiip war- 
tup, tshow tshow tshow tshow tshow. On whistling any of 
these notes within hearing of the Cardinal, a response is 
almost certain, as this affectionate recognition is fre- 
quently answered by the female. His phrase may also 
be altered at will, by whistling some other than that 
which he repeats, as he often immediately answers in the 
52* 


618 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


call he hears, supposing it to be that of his approaching 
mate. 

On their arrival in the Middle States, in spring, vio- 
lent contests sometimes ensue between the unmated and 
jealous males. When the dispute is for the present closed, 
the pair, probably for greater security, and dreading a re- 
curring quarrel of doubtful issue, wander off to a remote 
distance from their usual abode, and in this way, no 
doubt, occasionally visit countries but little frequented 
by the rest of their species. Early in May, it seems, 
in Pennsylvania, according to Wilson, they begin to pre- 
pare their nests, which are often placed in an_ ever- 
green bush, cedar, laurel, or holly. The external mate- 
rials are small twigs, dry weeds, and slips of vine-bark, 
the lining being formed of fine stalks of dry grass. The 
eggs, 4 or 5, are of a dull white, thickly spotted all over 
with brownish olive. They usually raise two broods in 
the season. As they are so easily domesticated immedi- 
ately after being caught in trap cages, it is unnecessary 
to raise them from the nest. By this kind of unnat- 
ural continement, the brilliant color of the male is found 
sometimes to fade until it becomes of a pale whitish 
red. They live; however, long in confinement, and an 
instance is known of one which had survived for 21 
years. In the cage, they have not that variety of song 
which they exhibit in their native wilds; and this, judg- 
ing from the frequent repetition of the same phrase, 
would appear to be a monotonous performance, if the va- 
riety of expression, tone, and key did not perpetually re- 
lieve and enhance the character of the lay. His song also 
continues for 6 or 8 months in the year, and is, even, 
as among the Thrushes, more lively in wet weather; the 
sadness of nature, softening and soothing the tender vo- 
calist into a lively, pathetic, and harmonious reverie. So 


CARDINAL GROSBEAK, OR RED-BIRD. 619 


highly were these birds esteemed for their melody, that 
according to Gemelli Careri, the Spaniards of Havanna, in 
a time of public distress and scarcity, bought so many of 
these birds, with which a vessel was partly freighted, from 
Florida, that the sum expended, at 10 dollars apiece, 
amounted to no less than 18,000 dollars! Indeed La- 
tham admits that the notes of our Cardinal “ are almost 
equal to those of the Nightingale,” the sweetest feathered 
minstrel of Europe. The style of their performance is, 
however, wholly different. The bold martial strains of 
the Red Bird, though relieved by tender and exquisite 
touches, possess not the enchanting pathos, the elevated 
and varied expression of the far-famed Philomel nor yet 
those contrasted tones, which, in the solemn stillness of 
the growing night, fall at times into a soothing whisper, or 
slowly rise and quicken into a loud and cheering warble. 
A strain of almost sentimental tenderness and sadness per- 
vades by turns the song of the Nightingale; it flows like a 
torrent, or dies away like an echo; his varied ecstasies 
poured to the pale moon-beams, now meet with no response 
but the sighing zephyr or the ever-murmuring brook. The 
notes of our Cardinal are as full of hilarity as of tender 
expression; his whistling call is uttered in the broad glare 
of day, and is heard predominant over most of the feath- 
ered choir by which he is surrounded. His responding 
mate is the perpetual companion of all his joys and cares; 
simple and content in his attachment, he is a stranger to 
capricious romance of feeling; and the shades of melan- 
choly, however feeble and transient, find no harbor in his 
preoccupied affections. 


The length of the Cardinal Bird is about 8 inches, and 11 in alar 
dimensions. The whole upper parts are of a dull dusky-red, except 
the sides of the neck, head, and whole lower parts, which are of a 
clear vermilion. The chin, front, and lores black; the head orna- 


620 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


mented with a high-pointed crest. Tall nearly even and long. Bill 
almost coral red. The legs and feet pale flesh-color, inclining to 
brownish. Irids dark hazel. 


COCCOTHRAUSTES. (Briss.) GROSBEAK. 


Bit of moderate length, extremely robust, almost as broad as the 
head, conical and pointed, not compressed ; upper mandible rather 
broader than the lower, slightly convex, the ridge indistinct, with the 
tip a little deflected. Nostrils basal, round. Wings of moderate 
length, pointed, the outer three quills nearly equal, the 2d longest. 
Tail emarginate. 


EVENING GROSBEAK. 


(Coccothraustes vespertinus, Cooper. Fringilla vespertina, Bonar. 
Am. Orn. ii. p. 75. pl. 15. fig. 1. Avup. Orn. Biog. 4. p. 515. pl. 373. 
f, 1. [male] and 424. f. 5.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Front and line over the eye yellow; crown, wings 
and tail black; secondaries and inner great wing-coverts white ; 
bill yellow. 


Tus beautiful species inhabits the solitudes of the 
North-western interior, being met with from the extremity 
of the Michigan Territory to the Rocky Mountains. It is 
not uncommon towards the upper extremity of Lake Su- 
perior and the borders of Athabasca Lake; to the east of 
these limits they only appear to be transient visitors in spring 
and fall. It is a common inhabitant of the fur countries 
and particularly of the maple woods of the Saskatche- 
wan, where it does not arrive from the south before the 
commencement of the month of June. In the pine woods 
of the Oregon, (according to Mr. Townsend) they are 
seen abundant about the middle of May, and at this time 


ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 621 


are very tame and unsuspicious, moving about in considera- 
ble numbers throughout the whole of the day and seem no 
way given to retiring before sunset. Their ordinary note 
while feeding consists of a single rather screaming call. At 
other times, particularly about mid-day the male from the 
branches of some tall pine tree utters a single warbling 
note much like the interrupted beginning of the Robin’s 
song, but not so sweet. ‘They feed upon the seeds of the 
pine and other trees, alighting upon large limbs, and pro- 
ceeding by a succession of hops to the very extremities of 
the branches. ‘They also occasionally devour the larve of 
ants, and probably other kinds of insects. 


The Evening Grosbeak is 8} inches long. Wing from the flexure 43. 
The sides of the head, neck, both above and beneath, with the inter- 
scapulars and breast, are of a dark olive-brown, blending and becom- 
ing paler as they approach the other tints. The back, rump, sides, 
and below, with the under wing and tail-coverts yellow. Legs and 
feet flesh color. — The female is without the yellow band on the fore- 
head, the streak of the same color over the eye, the black line along 
the basal margin of the upper mandible, and the large patch of white 
on the wings. Above light brownish-grey, tinged with olive. Tail 
feathers black with a white spot on the inner web at the tip. Throat 
greyish-white, with a longitudinal band of black on either side ; 
below yellowish-grey, abdomen and vent white; axillars and some of 
the lower wing-coverts yellow. Length 74 inches. 


ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 


(Coccothraustes ludovicianus, Nowis. Fringilla ludoviciana, Boxa p 
Loxia rosea (ludoviciana), Wison, il. p. 135. pl. 17. fig. 2. [male] 
and Bonar. Am. Orn. ii. p. 14. fig. 2. [female.] F. ludovici- 
ana, Avup. Orn. ii. p. 166. pl. 127. Phil. Museum, No. 5806, 
5807.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Black ; breast, and inferior wing-coverts carmine ; 
belly, band on the wing, base of the primaries, and 3 outer tail- 


622 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


feathers partly white; bill whitish.— Female and young varied 
with pale flaxen, dark olive, and whitish ; no red, and less white on 
the wings. 


Tue remote Northwestern Territories of the Union, 
Canada, and the cool regions towards the Rocky Moun- 
tains, appear to be the general residence of the Rose- 
breasted Grosbeak. A few breed on the banks of the Mo- 
hawk, and probably in the interior of Pennsylvania. Mr. 
Say met with it in the spring, on the lower part of the Mis- 
souri; and at Pembino, on the 5th of August, in the 49th 
parallel. I have likewise seen it in small flocks on the 
plains of the Kansa and Big Blue as far as the banks of 
the Platte, in thickets near small streams in the month of 
May. Dr. Richardson also observed it in the latitude of 
53°, and Audubon found it breeding in Newfoundland. It 
has likewise been seen in Mexico and Texas. These are, 
no doubt, its proper natal regions, and the course of its 
migrations, from which it only ventures accidentally in se- 
vere winters, and is then transiently seen in pairs east of 
the Atlantic mountains, which constitute the general 
boundary of its range. They are thus seen occasionally 
in the vicinity of Philadelphia, in the State of New York, 
particularly along the borders of Lake Ontario, and in 
Connecticut, but rarely in this part of New England. 
Pennant speaks of its arrival in the State of New York in 
May, where it has a nest of 5 eggs, and then retires in 
August. It is also unknown in the Southern States. 

According to Bonaparte, its nest is concealed amidst the 
thick foliage of the shady forests, where it delights to 
dwell in solitude. Externally it is composed of twigs, and 
lined with slender grass; and the eggs are 4 or 5, white, 
spotted with brown. My friend, Mr. Cooper, remarks, 
that though this species is rare in the vicinity of New 
York, a few probably breed in the woods of the Hudson, 


ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 623 


as at Tappan, 30 miles up that river, they are frequently 
seen in the cherry trees in the month of June; and they 
are said to be numerous in the forests along the south 
shore of Lake Erie, and usually breed there. It thrives 
very well in a cage, is a most melodious and indefatigable 
warbler, frequently, in fine weather, as in its state of free- 
dom, passing a great part of the night in singing, with all 
the varied and touching tones of the Nightingale. While 
thus earnestly engaged, it seems to mount on tiptoe in an 
ecstasy of enthusiasm and delight, at the unrivalled har- 
mony of its own voice. The notes are wholly warbled, 
now loud, clear, and vaulting with a querulous air, then 
perhaps sprightly, and finally lower, tender, and pathetic. 
In short, I am not acquainted with any of our birds supe- 
rior in song, to the present, with the solitary exception of 
our Orphean Mocking-Bird. 

The Louisiana Grosbeak is fed upon the usual kinds of 
bird-seed, and in their wild state seem to be particularly fond 
of the kernels of the sour-gum berries: they probably also 
feed upon the berries of the juniper, which abound in the 
regions they usually inhabit. 


This species is 8 inches long, and 13 in extent. Above black, 
except the 2d row of wing-coverts, which are broadly tipped with 
white ; a spot of the same exists on the primaries. The chin, neck, 
and upper parts of the breast are also black. Lower part of the 
breast, middle of the belly and lining of the wings, of a fine carmine 
tint. The tail forked, black, the 3 exterior feathers on each side, 
white on their inner vanes for an inch or more from the tips. Bill 
white (in the female rather dusky). Legs and feet greyish-blue. Irids 
hazel.— Female, bill brown above. Above olivaceous-brown spotted with 
brownish-black ; head with a median band of yellowish-grey, spotted 
with dusky ; then on each side a dark brown band, and above the eye 
a white one; a brown band from the bill to the eye and beyond it, 
and under this a whitish one. Quills and tail brown. Below brown- 
ish-yellow, breast and sides marked with small streaks of dark brown. 
The lower wing coverts slightly tinged with rose-color. 


624 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


BLUE GROSBEAK. 


(Coccothraustes cerulea, Noxzis. Fringilla caerulea, Bonar. Avp. 
Orn. ii. p. 140. pl. 122. Loxia cerulea, Witsov, iii. p. 78. pl. 24. 
fig. 6. [male]. Phil. Museum, No. 5826.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Deep blue; lores and frontlet black, tail and 
wings dusky, the latter skirted with pale bay; bill dusky blue. — 
Female and young dark drab, tinged with blue. — The males proba- 
bly undergo a double moult ? 


Tuts shy, and almost solitary species, chiefly inhabits 
the warmer parts of America from Brazil to Virginia; strag- 
glers occasionally also visit the lower parts of Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey, and Bullock observed them on the table- 
land of Mexico. According to Wilson, it is nearly a silent 
bird, seldom singing in the cage, its usual note of alarm be- 
ing merely a loud chuck ; though, at times, their musical 
capacity, under more favorable circumstances, would ap- 
pear, by their uttering a few low and sweet-toned notes. 
They may be fed on Indian corn, hemp seed, millet, and 
the kernels of several kinds of berries. 

According to Audubon, this species arrives in Louisiana 
about the middle of March ; they proceed through Alaba- 
ma, Georgia, and the Carolinas, in all which districts they 
breed ; and, although rarely seen in the Western States, 
Mr. Townsend and myself met with them in May on the 
borders of the Platte, near Scott’s Bluffs, where they were 
already mated and breeding. It is sometimes met with 
along the Atlantic coast as far as New Jersey, and Audu- 
bon found a nest in that State, within a few miles of Phila- 
delphia. The nest is usually made in a low bush, and com- 
posed of fine dry grass, lined with delicate root fibres or 
horse hair. ‘The eggs are about 4, and they raise two 
broods in the season. Their food consists principally of 
different sorts of seeds ; they are also fond of those of rice 


? 


BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. 625 


and grass of all kinds. At the period of breeding they sing 
with great sweetness and melody. 


This little-known species is 74 inches long, and 11 in alar extent; of 
a rich purplish-blue, more dull and spotted with dusky on the back ; 
coverts of the wings edged with bay ; quills skirted with blue. Tail 
forked, edged with bluish, and sometimes slightly tipped with white. 
Legs and feet lead-color. Bill dusky-blue, inclining to horn-color. 
Eyes large, full, and black. 


BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. 


(Coccothraustes melanocephalus, Nobis. Guiraca melanocephala, 
Bonar. Birds, &c. Fringilla melanocephala, Aup. Orn. Biog. iv. 
p- 519. pl. 373.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Head, wings, and tail, black; band on the neck, 
breast, sides, and rump, brownish-orange ; middle of the breast, 
axillaries, and lower wing-coverts, yellow ; two bands on the wings, 
a large basal spot on the primaries, and a large spot on the outer 
three tail feathers, white. — Female, above dusky, mixed with yel- 
lowish-white ; below pale yellowish-brown, inclining to orange on 
the breast; head dusky with a yellowish-brown median line and a 
similar line over the eye ; no spots on the tail. 


On the central table-land of the Rocky Mountains, and 
on the upper branches of the Colorado of the West, we first 
heard the powerful song of this most delightful bird. From 
thence, in the thick groves of all the streams on our western 
course to the borders of the Columbia, and throughout the 
dense forests of that river nearly to the sea, we were fre- 
quently cheered amidst the wildest desolation by the inimi- 
table voice of this melodious songster. Jealous of all intru- 
sion on his lonely haunts, it was seldom that we had the 
opportunity of seeing this almost fairy minstrel, which gave 
acharm to the saddest gloom, and made the woods as it 


were reécho to his untiring song. With the modesty of 
53 


626 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


merit, and almost with the solicitude of the Nightingale, 
our favorite songster seeks the darkest thickets of the forest. 
The moment his eye rests on the intruding observer, he flits 
off in haste, calls to his mate, and, plunging into the shade, 
sits in silence till he is satisfied of the restoration of solitude, 
when he again cautiously mounts the twig and pours out 
afresh the oft told but never-tiring tale of his affection, and 
participation in the joys of nature. His song, which greatly 
resembles that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, is heard at 
early dawn, and at intervals nearly to the close of night. 
It is a loud, varied, high-toned and melodious fife, which 
rises and falls in the sweetest cadence ; but always, like the 
song of the nightingale, leaves a sensation of pleasing sad- 
ness on the ear, which fascinates more powerfully than the 
most cheering hilarity. In fact, the closing note of our 
bird is often so querulous as to appear like the shrill cry of 
appealing distress: it sinks at last so faintly, yet still so 
charmingly, on the sense. When seen, which is only by 
accident, he sits conspicuously on some lofty bough, below 
the summit of the tree, and, raising his head and swelling 
his throat with a rising motion almost amounting to a flut- 
ter, he appears truly rapt in ecstasy, and seems to enjoy his 
own powers of melody as much as the listener. Even the 
cruel naturalist, ever eager to add another trophy to his 
favorite science, feels arrested by his appeal, and connives 
at his escape from the clutch of the collector. 

About the month of July, in the Rocky Mountains, I ob- 
served the female feeding her fledged young, and they al- 
so spent the summer in the thickest branches; but with 
the nest and eggs I am unacquainted. The song, as I have 
heard it in the forests of the Columbia, seems to be like the 
syllables ’tait weet weet weowit, teet weowit teet weowit verr, 
and sometimes terminating weet weet weet, every note a loud 
tender trill of the utmost sweetness, delivered in his own 


AMERICAN LINNET. 627 


“ wood-notes wild,” mocking nothing, but still exulting in 
his powers, which, while exerted, seem to silence every 
songster around. ‘The Robin seems almost his pupil in 
song and similarity of expression, but falls short, and after 
our Orpheus, seems at best but a faltering scholar. It 
was discovered by Mr. Bullock at Temiscaltipec, on the 
table-land of Mexico. 


Length 83 inches ; wing from the flexure 4}. Bull dusky, the low- 
er mandible white. Legs and feet wood-brown. Above brownish 
black ; feathers on the lower part of the hind neck all round, a streak 
over each eye, another along the middle of the hind head, the greater 
part of the rump, and the lower parts generally, brownish-orange ; 
two bands on the wings, a band on the base of the primaries, the mar- 
gins of 3 of the primaries towards the end, and a spot on the outer 
web of most of the secondaries at the end, a large patch on the inner 
web of all the tail-feathers, excepting the two middle, and largest in 
the outer, pure white. 


ERYTHROSPIZA. (Bonap.) PURPLE FINCHES. 


Bit rather short, robust, conical, bulging, pointed ; upper mandi- 
ble a little broader, above convex; the ridge indistinct, ascending at 
the base, tip slightly deflected, nostrils roundish, partly concealed by 
the advancing bristles. Partly crested. Wings moderate, outer 4 
quills longest.— These are melodious birds; the males more or less 
crimson-colored, living much in trees, though nesting in shrubs ; they 
pass the summer in the North, but arrive early in the spring. 


PURPLE FINCH, or AMERICAN LINNET. 


(Erythrospiza perpurea, Bonar. Fringilla purpurea, Gmeu. Witson, 
i. p. LI. pl. 7. fig. 4. [male]. and v. p. 87. pl. 42. fig. 3. [male in 
winter plumage]. Aun. pl. 4, Orn. i. p. 24. Lozia rosea, VixiLy. 
Phil. Museum, No. 6504.) 


628 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Spec. Cnaract. — Crimson, deepest on the head and throat; wings 
and emarginate tail, dusky, the back spotted with the same ; belly 
partly white.— Female and young varied with pale brown and 
dusky, without crimson; beneath yellowish-white, spotted with 
dusky brown. 


Tus brilliant and cheerful songster inhabits the Northern 
and Western States during the summer, where it pairs and 
rears its young. They have been seen also in Missouri 
‘Territory by Mr. Say, and extend their residence into the Fur 
Countries, and we also observed them in the Territory of 
Oregon. They appear to have a great predilection for resi- 
nous evergreens, pine and spruce, and feed upon the berries 
of the juniper and red cedar,* as well as the seeds of the 
tulip-tree,t and others: they likewise frequent gardens for 
the same purpose, and are particularly pleased with sun- 
flower seeds and other oily kinds. When reduced to neces- 
sity, they are observed to eat the buds of the beech, and 
those of the fruit trees, probably for the sake of the stamens 
contained in them, of which they are greedy when display- 
ed in the opening blossoms. ‘The stipules of the expanding 
buds of the elm, which are sweet and mucilaginous, as well 
as the young capsules of the willow, in the spring, also make 
a common part of their fare. ‘Their food in summer, how- 
ever, consists principally of insects, and juicy berries, as 
those of the honeysuckle and others. 

Although the Purple Finch breeds and passes the sea- 
son in this vicinity, yet as early as the close of September 
they leave us for the South; about which time, and nearly 
to the close of October, small, hungry, roving flocks ar- 
rive from the more Northern States, and Canada, or New- 
foundland. At the same time likewise great numbers visit 
Pennsylvania, the maritime parts of New York and New 


* Juniperus virginiana. { Lyriodendron tulipifera. 


PURPLE FINCH, OR AMERICAN LINNET. 629 


Jersey, and many pass the winter in the middle States; 
while others proceed as far south as the States of Louisi- 
ana, Florida and Texas, returning north in the latter end 
of March, or early in April, and arriving with us in the 
month of May, to pass the most important period of their 
existence. Roving flocks are also seen here as early 
as the 24th of March, singing while they stay, with 
great energy and cheerfulness; these, in all probability, 
proceed to Labrador or Newfoundland to breed. The 
males now have many bitter contests for the choice of 
their mates, and are very bold and pugnacious in confine- 
ment, attempting to destroy every other bird introduced 
into the same cage. ‘They also bite severely when taken 
up wounded, but are directly reconciled to the cage, find- 
ing their most important wants so amply supplied; yet, in 
this state, they often refuse to sing, and after moulting into 
the humble plumage of the female, frequently remain so, 
without ever renewing their crimson dress. They are here 
exposed in cages for sale at high prices, (by the name of 
Linnets), and sing pretty commonly in confinement. Their 
notes are very similar to those of the Warbling Vireo, but 
louder, and more agreeably diversified. From the tops of 
our lofty and spreading elms, or shadowy spruce trees, 
where they delight to pass the time, their varied and very 
cheerful melody is often continued for hours, almost with- 
out interval, and poured forth like a torrent. After a 
combat with a rival, his towering notes of victory burst 
out into rapture, and he now seems to triumph with loud 
and petulant hilarity. The song of this beautiful Finch 
is, indeed, much finer than that of the Canary; the 
notes are remarkably clear and mellow, and the trilling, 
sweet, and various, particularly on their first arrival. At 
times the warble is scarcely audible, and appears at a dis- 
tance ; it then, by a fine crescendo, bursts into loudness, 


53* 


630 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


and falls into an ecstasy of ardent and overpowering ex- 
pression ; at such times the usual pauses of the song are 
forgotten, and, like the varied lay of the Nightingale, the 
ravishing performer, as if in serious emulation, seems to 
study every art to produce the effect of brilliant and well 
contrasted harmony. As he sits on the topmost bough of 
some tall sapling or more lofty tree, surveying the wide 
landscape, his proud voice and elevated action seem to bid 
defiance to competition, and while thus earnestly engaged, 
he seems to fear no spectator, however near may be his ap- 
proaches. The rapidity of his performance, and the pre- 
eminent execution with which it is delivered, seem almost 
like the effort of a musical box, or fine-toned, quickly moy- 
ing, delicate strain on the organ. While feeding, in the 
month of March, they also utter a querulous tshippee tshee, 
in nearly the same sad and liquid tone as that uttered by 
the Yellow-birds while thus engaged. The dull colored 
birds, in the attire of the female, do not sing either so well 
or in the same manner as the crimson-colored individuals, 
though, as in the Pine Grosbeak, it is probable, that the 
brilliant color is merely confined to youngish birds; and 
hence those in cages, which lose that fine tint, are only 
the more adult individuals, in which this deterioration of 
color is natural. 

General Dearborn informed me, that he had seen the 
nest of this species (in July 1830) containing young, fixed 
on the low, horizontal branch of a balsam-fir, contiguous 
to a house, and even near a path. They seem much 
attached to evergreens, frequenting their shade, during the 
heat of the day. They sing at various times, but most 
vigorously in the morning and evening. 

The nest of this species, is, as I have observed in two 
instances in Cambridge, made in the horizontal branches 
of the Balsam Fir. In the first, which I saw in the gar- 


CRIMSON-FRONTED FINCH. 631 


den of Professor Farrar, it was made in a young tree, 
about 6 feet from the ground. On approaching it the 
female sat still until I nearly touched her, and made very 
little complaint when off. ‘The eggs, 5 in number, were 
of arather pale green, with dots and streaks of dark brown 
or dull purple scattered nearly all over the surface. The 
nest was coarse and substantial, very much like that of 
the Song Sparrow, composed of coarse grass, and lined 
with fine root fibres. From this nest was raised in a cage 
one of the young which became remarkably docile and 
affectionate, but was not remarkable for its song. A 
second nest was made in the very summit of a tall fir of 
the same species, and contained unfledged young. 


The Crimson Finch is from 6 to 6§ inches in length, and 9 or 
more in alar extent. Crimson, much deeper on the head and chin; 
the breast and rump paler, inclining to rosaceous. The back appears 
much spotted with dusky. The wings aud tail are also dusky, edged 
with reddish ; vent and centre of the belly white; the sides under 
the wings clouded with dull brownish. Legs brownish flesh-color. 
Bill dull, dark horn-color. Irids hazel. In young males, the crim- 
son feathers of the head and neck, are sometimes edged with rose- 
color, so that the brilliant tint is only seen by reflected light; as 
the margins, however, wear off, the vesture, in early spring, attains 
its proper color. Audubon observes, that among the flocks which 
winter in the South, there are as many red individuals as in sum- 
mer; here they are less common at that season; it is therefore not 
improbable that the young males proceed farther south, generally, 
than either the females or younger birds. Mr. Cooper remarks, that 


in the vicinity of New York the purple are as common as the brown 
birds. 


CRIMSON-FRONTED FINCH. 


(Erythrospiza frontalis, Bonar. Pyrrhula frontalis, Bonar. Am. Orn, 
i. p. 49. pl. 6. fig. 1. [male] fig. 2. [female]. Fringilla frontalis, 
Say, nec. Lara. Phil. Museum, No. 6276-7. Aup. Orn 5. p. 230. 
pl. 324. f. 2.) 


632 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dusky-brownish; fore part of the head, throat, 
breast, and rump crimson; belly whitish, spotted with dusky ; tail 
nearly even.— Female dusky-brown, the feathers edged with 
whitish ; no crimson; beneath whitish, streaked with dusky. 


Tor this new species we are again indebted to the in- 
dustry of Mr. Say, who described it in Long’s Expedition. 
It was met with near to the base of the Rocky Mountains, 
in the month of July, on the plains of the Arkansa, and 
consequently passes the breeding season in that country, 
having thus probably a very limited northern range. To 
the South, however, they have since been observed by Mr. 
Bullock on the table land of Mexico, and a specimen fig- 
ured by Audubon is said to have been obtained in Califor- 
nia. We did not meet with it in Oregon. They live, 
like the Purple Finch, in small scattered flocks, and were 
observed to frequent the tops of the cotton-wood poplars 
(Populus angulata?), feeding partially on their buds. 
Their voice is said to resemble that of the preceding bird, 
but we are not informed of their possessing any musical 
powers. 


This species is about 64 inches long. Wing from the flexure 34. 
Bill and legs brown, the latter paler. The head near the front, neck 
beneath, and upper portion of the breast crimson, deeper near the 
bill and over the eye; cheeks, and space from bill to eyes greyish. 
The occiput, the neck above, and on the sides brown, with a reddish 
cast. The back dusky-brownish ; rump crimson, less vivid than the 
head. Inferior portion of the breast, belly, and vent whitish, each 
feather haying a broad, fuscous line. Wings blackish-brown. 


GREY-CROWNED PURPLE FINCH. 


(Erythrospiza tephrocotis, Bonar. Linaria (Leucosticte) tephrocotis, 
Swarns. North. Zool. ii. p. 265. pl. 50. Fringilla tephrocotis, Auv. 
Orn. 5. p. 282. pl, 424. [male].) 


PINE FINCH. 633 


Spec. Cuaract. — Umber-brown ; crown blackish ; hind head grey- 
ish-white ; lesser wing and tail coverts with the flanks, tipped with 
rose-red. 


Onty a single specimen of this singular new bird was 
obtained on the banks of the Saskatchewan, in the month 
of May. 


Length 6 inches 9 lines ; the tail 2 inches 8 lines ; the folded wing 
4 inches; the bill above 4 an inch, to the rictus 64 lines; tarsus 9 
lines; middle toe 4 an inch.— Dark chesnut-brown or deep umber 
color, somewhat paler on the belly, and darkest on the chin, neck 
and ears. Front brownish-black, gradually changing posteriorly into 
shining ash-grey, which becomes almost white on the hind head. 
Nasal feathers whitish and shining. Wings, tail, and their coverts 
clove-brown. The lesser wing coverts broadly edged with bright 
peach-blossom red; the greater coverts more slightly margined with 
red; and the wings and tail have only narrow and pale edgings. 
Rump and upper tail coverts broadly tipt with rose-red ; the flanks 
and under tail coverts the same, but paler. Wings very long and 
pointed, the 3 first quills nearly equal. 


CORYTHUS. (Cuvier.) PINE FINCH. 


Birt moderate, thick, inflated at the base, conical, 
acute ; somewhat compressed at the sides; upper mandible 
convex, wide, curved at the point, overlapping the lower 
one which is straight and blunt; the ridge obsolete. Nos- 
trils lateral, round, hidden by the advancing bristles. 
Wings moderate, the Ist and 2d quills longest; tarsus 
short, thick, scutellated. Tail rather long, deeply emar- 
ginate. — Only one species of the genus known. Common 
to both continents. 


634 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


PINE FINCH. 


(Corythus enucleator, Bonar. Lozia enucleator, Witson, i. p. 80. pl. 5. 
fig. 2. [young male of the first year.] Pyrrhula enucleator, Aup. 
Orn, 4. p. 414. pl. 358. Phil. Museum, No. 664.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—The wings with 2 white bands, and the tail 
black ; secondaries edged with white ; length about 9 inches. — 
Adult male tinged with reddish-orange, beneath inclined more to 
yellow, above varied with blackish-brown.— In the young male 
the same parts and the rump are carmine of different shades, ex- 
cept the flanks, abdomen, and vent, which are cinereous. — Female, 
with the top of the head and rump brownish-orange ; below cinere- 
reous, with a faint tint of orange. 


Tuts splendid and very hardy bird appears to dwell 
almost wholly within the cold and arctic regions of both 
continents, from whence only, in severe winters, a few 
migrate into Canada and the United States, where they are 
consequently of rare and uncertain occurrence. They 
are common in the pine forests of Siberia, Lapland, and 
the northern parts of Russia; and are also observed in the 
Scottish Highlands, and on the North-west coast of Amer- 
ica. They have been seen in winter in the lower part of 
Missouri, and at the same season, occasionally, in the mar- 
itime parts of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The 
American birds of this species are observed to return to 
Hudson’s Bay as early as April. According to Mr. Pen- 
nant, they frequent the woods of pine and juniper, and 
are now possessed of musical talents; but as the period of 
incubation approaches, they grow silent. ‘Their nests are 
made in trees (probably their favorite evergreens), at a 
small height from the ground, with twigs externally, and 
lined with feathers. The eggs, 4 or 5, are white?, and 
the young are hatched in June. Suited to the sterile cli- 
mates they inhabit, their fare, besides the seeds of the 


CROSSBILLS. 635 


pine, alpine plants, and berries, often consists of the buds 
of the poplar, willow, and other northern trees and shrubs; 
so that they are generally secure of the means of subsist- 
ence, as long as the snows are not too overwhelming. 
The individuals, as yet seen in the United States, are 
wholly young birds, which, it seems, naturally seek out 
warmer climates than the adult and more hardy individ- 
uals. 

According to Mr. T. McCulloch, of Pictou, Nova Sco- 
tia, in very severe winters, flocks of these birds, driven 
from the pine forests by famine and cold, collect about the 
barns and even enter the streets of Pictou alighting in 
quest of food. A male bird at this season, caught ina 
trap, became very familiar, and as the spring approached, 
he resumed his song in the mornings, and his notes, like 
those of the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak were exceedingly 
rich and full. As however, the period for migration ap- 
proached, his familiarity disappeared, and the desire of 
liberty seemed to overcome every other feeling. For four 
days in succession his food remained untouched, and his 
piteous wailing excited so much commiseration, that at 
length he was released. They are said to breed in Maine 
as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador. 


The length of the Pine Finch is about 9 inches or under. Tail 
considerably forked. Legs black. Bill brownish horn-color. 


LOXIA. (Briss.) CROSSBILLS. 


In these birds the pirt is robust and convex, with the mandibles 
crossing each other and compressed towards the points, which are 
extended in the form of crescents. Nostrits basal, lateral, rounded, 
hidden by the advancing hairs of the front. Tonever cartilaginous, 
short, entire, and pointed. The tarsus nearly equal with the middle 


636 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


toe ; toes divided to the base; hind nail largest, much curved. — 
Wings moderate, Ist and 2d primaries longest. Tail notched. 

The female and young differ considerably from the adult male, and 
from each other; there is likewise a difference of plumage according 
to age and season ; although they are believed to moult but once a 
year. They inhabit the boreal and arctic regions, and possess most 
of the manners of the Grosbeaks and Bullfinches. They live prin- 
cipally in the forests of pine and fir; feeding usually on the seeds 
or nuts of that family of trees, their bills being singularly well 
adapted for the opening of the pine cones; they feed also on other 
kinds of hard seeds of the trees and shrubs of cold and alpine regions. 
In Europe they are observed to nest often in the depth of winter, 
and still later in the cold and arctic regions whither they retire at the 
approach of summer. Their migrations are irregular, and influenced 
much by accidental circumstances ; sometimes they appear in great 
numbers, as if driven forth by the approach of famine. They are 
active, not timorous ; and easily tamed. By the genus Psittacirostra, 
or Parrot-billed Grosbeak of New Holland, the Crossbills evidently 
approach the Parrots of the next order ZyGopacryLl. 


PAROQUET CROSSBILL. 


(Loxia pytiopsittacus, Becust. TemMInck, i. p. 320. (ed. alt.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Wings without bands ; bill shorter than the middle 
toe, very stout, and greatly incurved, the point of the lower man 
dible not crossing tlic upper edge of the bill. 


Ts species, hitherto unseen in the limits of the Unit- 
ed States, inhabits, according to Temminck, the high 
northern regions of America as well as Europe, where 
they principally dwell and breed. They are sometimes, 
however, seen in summer in Poland, Prussia, and Ger- 
many ; and disperse themselves in winter through the pine 
forests for subsistence, returning again to the north at the 
approach of summer. They live on the seeds of the pine 
and alder, which they dexterously extract from their cones 
and catkins. ‘They nest in winter in Europe, upon the 


COMMON CROSSBILL, 637 


branches of the same evergreens which afford them their 
principal sustenance. In Livonia, they lay in the month 
of May; the nest is neatly and artfully constructed. The 
eggs, 4 or 5, are cinereous, marked at the larger end with 
some large, irregular spots of blood-red, and with lesser 
scattered spots of the same. 


Length about 74 inches. In the old male the general color is olive 
grey ; cheeks, throat, and sides of the neck cinereous; upon the 
head brown spots edged with greenish-grey ; rump greenish-yellow ; 
breast and belly of the same color, but shaded with greyish ; some 
longitudinal spots of dark cinereous upon the flanks. Wings and 
tail blackish-brown, edged with olive-grey; rump brown, with a 
wide and pale border. Iris dark brown. Bill blackish horn-color. 
Feet brown. — Male, up to the age of a year. Above and below of a 
scarlet red, more or less pure according to the time elapsed from the 
commencement of their second moult, which takes place in April or 
May. Tail and wings blackish, the feathers edged with reddish. A 
little time after the completion of the first moult, the red of the plum- 
age becomes shaded with greyish; also some grey spots upon the 
throat and cheeks ; the abdomen and rump rosaceous-white, upon the 
latter a large brown spot occupying its centre. — The young of the year 
are of a greyish-brown above, with darker spots upon the head and 
back. Below whitish-grey with longitudinal brown spots; rump of 
a yellowish grey. — The female differs little from the young last men- 
tioned ; the upper parts are greenish grey, with large spots of cinere- 
ous-brown; the throat and neck greyish, shaded with brown; the 
rest of the lower parts cinereous, slightly shaded with greenish yel- 
low ; rump yellowish ; belly and rump whitish, upon the latter a large 
brown spot. 


COMMON CROSSBILL. 


(Loxia curvirostra, Linx. Avp. Orn. ii. p. 559. pl. 197. Curvirostra 
americana, Wiison, iv. p. 44. pl. 31. fig. 2. [adult male ?] Phil. 
Museum, No. 5640.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Wings without bands; the bill as long as the 
middle toe; the point of the lower mandible crossing the top of 


54 


638 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


the bill. — Adult male, greenish-yellow inclining strongly to cinere- 
ous. — Female and young before the first moult, shaded with green- 
ish and yellowish tints; rump yellowish ; beneath whitish, streaked 
with dusky. — Young male, after the first moult, brick-red. 


Tris more common species, like the preceding, inhab- 
its the high northern and arctic regions of both conti- 
nents, where it breeds, and is met with from Greenland 
to Pennsylvania, or farther south, according to the sea- 
son, and their success in obtaining food, when driven to 
make their southern descent or migration. From Sep- 
tember to April, they are found inhabiting the extensive 
pine forests in the mountainous and interior districts of 
Pennsylvania and other States to the North; they also 
extend their winter migrations into the lower parts of the 
State of Missouri. They have occasionally been seen in 
the maritime parts of Massachusetts, but are less com- 
mon here than the following species, generally taking, 
in their irregular incursions, a more interior and moun- 
tainous route. In the eastern chain of the Alleghanies, 
in Pennsylvania, according to Wilson, they appear to be 
at times very abundant visitors, feeding so steadily on the 
seeds of the white pine and hemlock spruce, as to be ap- 
proached without taking alarm. They have also a loud, 
sharp, and not unmusical note, chattering as they fly ; and, 
during the prevalence of deep snows, become so tamed by 
hunger as to alight round the mountain cabins, even set- 
tling on the roofs when disturbed, and, like pigeons, de- 
scending in the next moment to feed as if they had never 
been molested. They are then easily trapped, and so eager 
and unsuspicious, as to allow an approach so near that they 
may be knocked down with sticks. In these very familiar 
visits they are observed even to pick off the clay from the 
logs of the house, and to swallow the mere earth to allay 
the cravings of hunger. In cages they show many of the 


COMMON CROSSBILL. 639 


habits of the Parrot, climbing up the sides and holding the 
pine cones given them in one claw while they extract the 
seeds. Like the same bird, in Louisiana, they also do con- 
siderable damage at times in the orchard, by tearing apples 
to pieces for the sake of getting at the seeds only. They 
feed likewise on the seeds of the alder, as well as the ker- 
nels of other fruits, and the buds of trees. Scarcely any of 
these birds have yet been observed to breed within the Uni- 
ted States, as they retire for this purpose to their favorite 
pine forests in high and more cool latitudes, where in secu- 
rity and solitude they pursue the duties of procreation. Dr. 
Brewer, of Boston, however, obtained eggs of this species 
from Coventry, in Vermont. Like the preceding, they often 
breed in winter in more temperate countries, as in January 
and February, and the young fly in March. The nest is 
said to be fixed in the forks of fir-trees; and the eggs, 4 or 
5, are of a greenish-grey, with a circle of reddish-brown 
spots, points, and lines, disposed chiefly at the larger end: 
the lines also often extend over the whole surface of the 
egg. 

This species was not observed by the naturalists of the 
northern expeditions in any part of the Fur Countries. It 
is however described by Forster. In the winter of 1882, 
during, or soon after a severe snow storm, a large flock of 
these uncertain winter visitors were seen in a red cedar 
grove near to Mount Auburn in this vicinity. In 1833, 
accompanied by the White-winged species, a flock of the 
same birds made their appearance, as early as the 11th of 
November, in some tall pine trees, in the same place they 
visited the last year in the depth of winter. They are very 
busy and unsuspicious, have very much the manners of 
Parrots in their feeding. At some distance beneath the 
trees where they are engaged, we can hear them forcing 
open the scales of the rigid pine cones with a considerable 


640 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


crackling, and the wings of the seeds fly about in all direc- 
tions. Sometimes the little Red-Polls also attend to snatch 
a seed or two as they are spread to the winds. They fly 
somewhat like the Yellow-Birds, by repeated jerks and sink- 
ings and risings in their course, but proceed more swift and 
direct to their destination ; they also utter a rather loud and 
almost barking or fifing chirp, particularly the females, like 
’tsh ’tship ’tsh’tship. ‘Their enemies seem also to follow 
them into this distant and unusual retreat. One evening, 
as they were uttering their quailing chirp, and about to 
roost in the pines, we heard an unusual cry, and found that 
the alarm was justly occasioned by the insidious and daring 
attack of a bold Butcher-Bird (Zanius borealis), who had 
taken advantage of their bewildered confusion at the mo- 
ment of retiring to repose. Besides their call and ordinary 
plaints, we hear, as I have thought, now and then, in the 
warmer part of the day, a rather agreeable, but somewhat 
monotonous song. We found these birds, as well as the 
Red-Polls, very fat and plump; and they devour a great 
quantity of pine seeds, with which the esophagus is perpet- 
ually gorged as full as in the gluttonous and tuneless Cedar- 
Birds (Bombycilla. ) 


The length of this species is about 63 inches. The bill brown horn- 
color. Legs and feet light brown; claws large, much curved and 
very sharp for the purpose of clinging to the cones and fruits on 
which they feed. Irids brown. — According to Audubon, the adult 
only are of a red color. 


WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 


(Lozia leucoptera, Guet. Avon. Orn. Biog. 4. p. 467. pl. 364. Curvi- 
rostra leucoptera, Witson, iv. p. 48. pl. 31. fig. 3. [young male.] 
Bonar. Am. Orn, ii. pl. 14. fig. 3. [female].) 


Spec. CuHaract. — Wings with 2 white bands. — The different states 


WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 641 


of plumage very similar to the preceding. — Young male more in- 
clined to crimson, and without any yellow. 


Tus beautiful and well-distinguished species inhabits 
the northern regions of the American continent only, from 
whence, at irregular intervals, on the approach of winter, 
they arrive in the Northern and Middle States; and, as 
usual with the rest of this curious family, seek out the pine 
and hemlock-spruce forests. Their visits to this State are 
very irregular. About two years since, they were seen 
in large, gregarious, famished flocks, near Newburyport 
and other neighboring towns in the vicinity of the sea-coast, 
at which time many were caught, killed, and caged. Their 
whole habits are almost entirely similar to those of the pre- 
ceding species. Its song is said to be mellow and agreea- 
ble, and in captivity it becomes gentle and familiar. 

According to Mr. Hutchins in Latham,* this species, 
it 1s supposed, arrives around Hudson’s Bay in March, 
and in May builds a nest of grass, mud, and feathers, 
fixed generally about half way up a pine tree, and lays 
5 white eggs, marked with yellowish spots. The young 
fly about the end of June. It remains in this country 
till the close of November, after which it retires, proba- 
bly to the South; and Wilson’s bird was obtained in the 
Great Pine Swamp or forest of the Pokono (Pennsylvania), 
in the month of September, so that it may be possible that 
some few pairs breed in this situation. 

This species, according to Richardson, inhabits the 
dense white spruce forests of the fur countries, feeding 
principally on the seeds of the cones. It ranges through 
the whole breadth of the continent, and probably up to the 
6Sth parallel, where the forests terminate. It is usually 
seen in the upper branches of trees, and, when wounded, 


* Latham’s General Synopsis, Supplement, i. p.. 148 [4to.] 


54* 


642 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 


still clings so fast as to remain suspended after death. In 
September, collecting in small flocks, they fly from tree to 
tree in arestless manner and make a chattering noise ; and 
in the depth of winter they retire from the coast to seek 
shelter in the thick woods of the interior. 


This species is about 64 inches long. Extent of wings 103. (In 
the old male) the wings and tail are of a deep black; and the gen- 
eral color of the plumage is dark crimson, partially spotted with 
dusky; tertials tipt with white ; vent white, spotted with dusky. Bill 
brown horn-color. Feet and legs brown, and stout as in the preced- 
ing species. 


OR DEE. PLE TH. 


— pe 


ZYGODACTYLI. (Birds with the toes disposed in op- 
posite pairs.) 


Tue bill of various forms, but more or less arched and 
much hooked, — often also straight and angular (in the 
second family or sub-order.) ‘The toes are always directed 
two backward and two forward, the hind exterior toe, how- 
ever, often reversible. 

This order contains birds which have the power of 
directing at will the outer toe backward or forward; it 
also contains a considerable number (or subordinate 
family) which retain habitually the digits in pairs. This 
conformation, affording a more solid manner of attach- 
ment, furnishes the means for clinging to and scaling the 
trunks and branches of trees; others also make use of 
this support advantageously for the purpose of prehension 
(as the Parrots.) The European and North American 
genera of this order subsist principally upon caterpillars, 
worms, and the Jarve of insects; other exotic genera, 
with a thick and curved bill, give a preference to soft 
fruits, while others, with very strong and hooked bills, 
derive their subsistence from kernels and nuts. The 
greater number of those birds which have the toes dis- 
posed in pairs, nest in the natural cavities of old trees, 
and some, by the aid of their cutting wedged bills, form 
for themselves holes to answer this purpose. 


644 ZYGODACTYLI. 


PSITTACINA. PARROTS. 


Ivy these the prix is short, large, protuberant, extremely hard and 
robust, somewhat compressed, convex above and below, furnished with 
a cere at the base; both the mandibles movable ; the upper curved 
from its origin, with the margins angular, the point hooked, and more 
or less subulate ; lower mandible shorter, blunt, and curved at the 
point, which by use then sometimes presents two more or less obvious 
points, Nosrrits basal, orbicular, open, and perforated within the 
boundary of the cere. Toncever thick and fleshy, entire, rounded at 
tip, and sometimes pencillated (or divided into terminal threads, as in 
the Toucans.) Feet short and robust; the tarsus naked and reticulated, 
shorter than the outer toe ; fore toes united at base, opposable to the 
hind ones; outer hind toe not versatile ; sole of the foot broad and 
flat, nails incurved, rather large, and acute. — Wings rather long ; the 
3 first primaries nearly equal, or very slightly graduated. Tail of 
various forms, consisting of 12 feathers. — The female generally 
similar to the male; the young differ much from the adult, and pass 
through several changes previous to attaining their perfect plumage ; 
the colors of which are unusually brilliant. ; 

These remarkable and gregarious birds dwell in forests, chiefly in 
all the warm or mild climates, excepting Europe ; a single small spe- 
cies exists even at the Straits of Magellan,* and others in New Zea- 
land, and the Macquarie islands in the 52d parallel, in the Southern 
hemisphere, which is much more prolific in kinds than the Northern. 
They are naturally noisy and unmusical, having little or no variety of 
note, until tamed and educated, when, in consequence of their docility, 
aptness, and happy conformation of vocal organs, they are readily 
taught to articulate the sounds of the human voice, either in speech 
or music, with a surprising exactness, and exhibit also no inconsider- 
able share of memory. They are, in short, perfect apes, and deserve 
to rank with the most intelligent of irrational animals.t They fly 
with the swiftness of wild pigeons, and climb by means of the bill 
and feet, which last, indeed, supply the place of hands, and are often 
employed for the prehension of their food. They feed on fruits and 
seeds, breaking the hardest pericarps, and inflicting powerful bites. 


* Psittacus smaragdinus, (Emerald Parrakeet.) 
+ For further particulars concerning the decility of the Parrot, see the Introduc- 
tion, p. 20, 21. 


- 


PARRAKEET. 645 


They often build and roost in the cavities of decayed trees, and some- 
times also nest in the bifurcation of large limbs, or in the cavities of 
rocks, laying from 2 to 4 roundish white eggs twice a year. They 
are said to macerate the food for their young, and in captivity are 
nearly omnivorous, but give a preference to nuts and kernels. 

Norse. We have already remarked their affinity to the Lozias, one 
of the species being called indeed, by some, German Parrots; and 
the intermediate link seems decided in the Psittacirostra! They have 
likewise a more remote affinity to the Accripirres, from which, at the 
same time, their habits are wholly estranged. The Finches, allied to 
the Parrots in physical structure, have, also, like them, a remarkable 
degree of docility, and have been taught to perform feats with all the 
address and sagacity of monkeys.* The Viduas, in their elongated 
tails, seem almost to represent the section of the Parrakeets. 


CONURUS. (Kust.) PARRAKEET. 


Brix short, convex, above and below very stout, deeper 
than broad, with a curving outline, and sharp edges, deeply 
notched, tip hooked, somewhat three-sided, elongated and 
acute. Nosrrits concealed, basal, round. Feet and tarsus 
short. Wings long and pointed, with the 2d quill longest. 
Tail long and wedge-shaped. 


* See the Introduction, p. 21. 


“ABOWEN 


CAROLINA PARROT. 


(Conurus carolinensis, Bonar. p. 38. Psittagus carolinensis, L. W1L- 
SON, iii. p. 89. pl. 26. fig. 1. AupuBon, pl. 26. p. 135. Phil. Muse- 
um, No. 762.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Green; head and neck yellow; forehead and 
cheeks orange; tail elongated. — The young without the yellow 
color. 


Or more than 200 species, now known to belong to this 
remarkable and brilliant genus, the present is the only one 
found inhabiting the United States; it is also restricted to 


CAROLINA PARROT. 647 


the warmer parts, rarely venturing beyond the state of 
Virginia. West of the Alleghanies, however, circum- 
stances induce them commonly to visit much higher lati- 
tudes ; so that, following the great valley of the Mississippi, 
they are seen to frequent the banks of the Illinois, and 
occasionally to approach the southern shores of Lake 
Michigan. Straggling parties even have sometimes been 
seen in the valley of the Juniata in Pennsylvania, and a 
flock, to the great surprise of the Dutch inhabitants of 
Albany, are said to have appeared in that vicinity. This 
species constantly inhabits and breeds in the Southern 
States, and is so far hardy as to make its appearance, com- 
monly in the depth of winter, along the woody banks of 
the Ohio, the interior of Alabama, and the banks of the 
Mississippi and Missouri around St. Louis, and other 
places, when nearly all other birds have migrated before 
the storms of the season. 

The Carolina Parrakeets in all their movements, which 
are uniformly gregarious, show a peculiar predilection for 
the alluvial, rich, and dark forests bordering the principal 
rivers and larger streams, in which the towering cypress * 
and gigantic sycamore? spread their vast summits, or 
stretch their innumerable arms, over a wide waste of 
moving or stagnant waters. From these, the beech, and 
the hack-berry,¢ they derive an important supply of food. 
The flocks, moving in the manner of wild pigeons, dart 
in swift and airy phalanx through the green boughs of 
the forest; screaming in a general concert, they wheel 
in wide and descending circles round the tall button-wood, 
and all alight in the same instant, their green vesture, 
like the fairy mantle, rendering them nearly invisible 
beneath the shady branches, where they sit, perhaps 


* Cupressus disticha. t Platanus occidentalis. t Celtis occidentalis. 


648 ZYGODACTYLI. 


arranging their plumage, and, shuffling side by side, seem 
to caress, and scratch each other’s heads with all the fond- 
ness and unvarying friendship of affectionate Doves. 
If the gun thin their ranks, they hover over the screaming, 
wounded, or dying, and returning and flying around the 
place where they miss their companions, in their sympathy 
seem to lose all idea of impending danger. More for- 
tunate in their excursions, they next proceed to gratify the 
calls of hunger, and descend to the banks of the river, or 
the neighboring fields, in quest of the inviting kernels of 
the cockle burr,* and probably of the bitter weed,+ which 
they extract from their husks with great dexterity. In the 
depth of winter, when other resources begin to fail, they, 
in common with the Yellow-Bird, and some other Finches, 
assemble among the tall sycamores,t¢ and hanging from the 
extreme twigs, inthe most airy and graceful postures, scat- 
ter around them acloud of down, from the pendant balls, 
in quest of the seeds, which now afford them an ample re- 
past. With that peculiar caprice, or perhaps appetite, 
which characterizes them, they are also observed to fre- 
quent the saline springs or licks to gratify their uncommon 
taste for salt. Out of mere wantonness, they often fre- 
quent the orchards, and appear delighted with the fruitless 
frolic of plucking apples from the trees, and strewing them 
on the ground untasted. So common is this practice 
among them, in Arkansas Territory, that no apples are 
ever suffered to ripen. ‘They are also fond of some sorts 
of berries, and particularly of mulberries, which they eat 
piecemeal, in their usual manner, as they hold them by 
the foot. According to Audubon, they likewise attack 
the outstanding stacks of grain in flocks, committing great 
waste; and on these occasions, as well as the former, they 


* Xanthium strumarium. ft Ambrosia, species, t Platanus occidentalis. 


CAROLINA PARROT. 649 


are so bold or incautious as readily to become the prey of 
the sportsman in great numbers. Peculiarity of food ap- 
pears wholly to influence the visits and residence of 
this bird, and in plain, champaign, or mountainous coun- 
tries, they are wholly strangers, though common along 
the banks of all the intermediate watercourses and 
lagoons. 

Of their manners at the interesting period of propaga- 
tion and incubation we are not yet satisfactorily informed. 
They nest in hollow trees, and take little, if any pains, to 
provide more than a simple hollow in which to lay their 
eggs, like the Woodpeckers. Several females deposit their 
eggs in the same cavity; the number laid by each is said 
to be only 2, which are nearly round, and of a light green- 
ish-white.* They are at all times, particularly attached to 
the large sycamores, in the hollow trunks of which they 
roost in close community, and enter at the same aperture 
into which they climb. They are said to cling close to the 
sides of the tree, holding fast by the claws and bill; and 
into these hollows they often retire during the day, either 
in very warm or inclement weather, to sleep or pass away 
the time in indolent and social security, like the Rupicolast 
of the Peruvian caves, at length only hastily aroused to 
forage at the calls of hunger. Indeed from the swiftness 
and celerity of their aerial movements, darting through the 
gleaming sunshine, like so many sylvan cherubs, decked in 
green and gold, it is obvious that their actions as well as 
their manners are not calculated for any long endurance; 
and shy and retiring from all society but that to which they 
are inseparably wedded, they rove abroad with incessant 


* Aupuson. Orn. Biog. i. p. 139. 
+ Cock of the Rock of Peru, which is also somewhat related, apparently, to the 
Parrots. 


S35) 


650 ZYGODACTYLI. 


activity, until their wants are gratified, when hid from 
sight, they again relapse into that indolence which seems a 
relief to their exertions. 

The Carolina Parrot is readily tamed, and early shows 
an attachment to those around who bestow any attention on 
its wants; it soon learns to recollect its name, and to an- 
swer and come when called on. It does not, however, 
evince much, if any capacity, for mimicking human speech, 
or sounds of any kind; and, as a domestic, is very peace- 
able and rather taciturn. It is extremely fond of nuts and 
almonds, and may be supported on the vegetable food 
usually given to other species. One which I saw at Tus- 
caloosa, a week after being disabled in the wing, seemed 
perfectly reconciled to its domestic condition; and as the 
weather was rather cold, it remained the greater part of the 
time in the house, climbing up the sides of the wire fender to 
enjoy the warmth of the fire. I was informed, that when 
first caught it scaled the side of the room, at night, and 
roosted in a hanging posture by the bill and claws; but 
finding the labor difficult and fruitless, having no companion 
near which to nestle, it soon submitted to pass the night on 
the back of a chair. 

When placed in a cage out of doors, in a suitable situa- 
tion, the call of the prisoner instantly awakens the sympa- 
thy of the passing flocks, who from the neighboring trees 
sometimes enter into communion with their disabled or de- 
tained companion. A caged bird, as with some of the 
other species, and particularly the ‘ Inseparable,’ is ex- 
tremely pleased with the society of a companion, and they 
are observed to roost side by side, even thrusting their 
heads, at such times, into the plumage of each other, and 
thus, by a variety of delicate attentions, succeed in amelio- 
rating the misfortunes of confinement and unnatural re- 
straint. Even her own image in a looking-glass often seems 


AMERICAN CUCKOO. 651 


to diminish the weariness of solitude, and by the side of this 
pleasing phantom, the Parrot or the Canary sinks satisfied 
to repose. 


This species is about 14 inches long, and 22 in alar dimensions. The 
forehead and cheeks are orange-red; the rest of the head and neck 
of a rich yellow; shoulder and bend of the wing edged with orange- 
red. Above bright yellowish glossy green, with bluish reflections, 
diluted with yellow below; interior webs of the primaries dusk y-pur- 
ple, exterior ones bluish-green. Tail long and graduated, the exterior 
feathers only half the length of the middle ones; shafts of all the 
quills black. Knees and vent orange. Feet a pale whitish flesh-color ; 
claws black. Bill white, slightly tinted with cream-color. Iris hazel. 
In the young birds the head and neck is wholly green, except the 
front and cheeks, which are orange, as in the adults. — Though tough 
like the Pigeon, the flesh of this Parrot is commonly eaten in the 
Southern States, but, from my own experience, I cannot consider it 
as very palatable. The brains and intestines have likewise been said 
to be a poison to cats, though apparently without any foundation, 
according to the experiment of Wilson. 


CUCULINA.. CUCKOOS. 


Wirn the bill robust or moderate, deeply cleft, compressed at the 
sides ; ridge of the upper mandible arched, the point hooked or cury- 
ed. Wings short and concave, quills often distinctly carinated ; two 
of the toes directed forward and two backward. 


COCCYZUS. (Vieimtt.) AMERICAN CUCKOO. 


THE BILL rather robust, long, compressed the whole length, carin- 
ated, entire, with both mandibles gently curved from the base and re- 
flected at the points, the upper somewhat longer. Nostrits basal, 
lateral, oval, half closed by a naked membrane. Tonevr short, nar- 
row,acute. Frxr slender; tarsus naked, robust. longer or only about 
the length of the longest toe, the 2 anterior toes united at the base ; 
nails short and but little curved. — Wings rather short; spurious fea- 


652 ZYGODACTYLI. 


ther short, 3d and 4th primaries longest. Tul moderate or long, not 
emarginated, consisting of 1U feathers. 

These birds inhabit the warmer parts of both continents, though 
there are none in Europe ; two or three species inhabit the United 
States during summer. They replace here the true Cuckoos* of the 
old continent, from which they scarcely at all differ except in habit. 
They built, however, generally, a nest in tall thickets, trees, or hollow 
trunks, and breed up their young. They usually reside in forests or 
orchards, are shy, and fond of solitude, hiding and crouching beneath 
the shady branches, and seldom if ever alight on the ground. They 
feed on insects and berries, particularly on the hairy caterpillars re- 
jected by other birds, in the digestion of which they are assisted by 
disgorging at intervals the roughened skins; they are also exceed- 
ingly greedy of the eggs of other birds. They moult once a year, 
and there is but little difference in plumage between the sexes, or be- 
tween the old and the young ; the female is however somewhat larger. 


§ 1. Tarsus about the length of the longest toe, knees feathered. 


YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, or RAIN-CROW. 


(Coccyzus americanus, Bonar. AupvuBon, pl. 2. Orn.i.p. 18. Cucu- 
lus carolinensis, Wi1Lson, iv. p. 13. pl. 28. fig. 1. C. americanus, L. 
Phil. Museum, No. 1778.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dark greyish-brown with bronzy reflections ; be- 
neath white; inner vanes of the primaries reddish cinnamon color; 
the lower mandible yellow. 


Ture American Cuckoo arrives in the middle and colder 
States of the Union about the close of April or the first 
week of May, and proceeds to the north as far as Nova 
Scotia. They probably winter in Mexico, and some pass 
no farther than the forests of Louisiana.t We also met 
with this species in the remote territory of Oregon. La- 


* The Cuckoo was known to the Greeks by the name of ~0%*v6, from its note. 


+ Aupugon, Orn. Biog. i. p. 19. 


YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, OR RAIN-CROW. 653 


tham speaks of this species, also, as an inhabitant of the 
tropical island of Jamaica. It delights in the shady re- 
tirement of the forest, and is equally common in tall thick- 
ets and orchards, where, like a piratical prowler, it sculks 
and hides among the thickest boughs; and althongh, un- 
like the European Cuckoo, they are faithfully paired, yet 
the pair are seldom seen in the same tree, but, shy and 
watchful, endeavor to elude everything like close observa- 
tion. ‘The male, however, frequently betrays his snug re- 
treat by his monotonous and guttural how kow kow kow, 
or koo koo koo koo, and ko kik, ko kuk, koo koo koo kuk, 
koo ko koo, koo ko koo, uttered rather low and plaintively 
like the call of the Dove. At other times, the kow kow 
kow, and ’tk’tk ’tk ’tk ’tak, or ’kh’kh’kh’kh’kah kow 
kow kow kow, beginning slow, rises, and becomes so quick 
as almost to resemble the grating of a watchman’s rattle, 
or else, commencing with this call, terminates in the dis- 
tant ery of kow kow kow. From this note, supposed to be 
most clamorous at the approach of rain, it has received, in 
Virginia and other States, the name of Rain-Crow, and 
Cow-Bird. At various seasons, during the continuance of 
warm weather, the vigil kow kow kew kow of the faithful 
male is uttered for hours, at intervals, throughout the 
night. ‘The same notes, but delivered in a slower and 
rather tender strain, are given with great regularity like- 
wise in the day as long as the period of incubation con- 
tinues. He often steadfastly watches any approach to the 
nest, going to it occasionally to assure himself that it is 
unmolested ; and, at times, he may be observed darting 
even at the dormant bat, who accidentally seeks repose be- 
neath the shady leaves of some contiguous tree, so that he 
is no less vigilant in seeking the security of his own pro- 
geny, than in piratically robbing the nests of his neigh- 
bors. There are two or three other species in Jamaica 


55* 


654 ZYGODACTYLI. 


and other parts of tropical America, possessing a note very 
similar to that of our bird, which also frequently ap- 
proaches, when delivered in the plaintive mood, koo koo 
and koo koo koo, the usual sound of the European Cuckoo. 
There is a Mexican species (Cuculus ridibundus) which 
so simulates laughter, as to have excited the superstition 
of the natives, by whom it is hated as a messenger of 
evil, its accidental note of risibility being construed 
into an ominous delight in misfortune. 

The whole tribe of Cuckoos are in disgrace for the un- 
natural conduct of the European and some other foreign 
species, who, making no nests, nor engaging in conjugal 
cares, parasitically deposit their eggs, one by one, in the 
nests of other small birds, to whom the care of rearing 
the vagrant foundling is uniformly consigned. This whit- 
ish and darkly spotted egg, so different from that of our 
dubious species, is supposed to be conveyed into several 
of the nests where it is found, in some way or other, after 
being laid, for in no other manner could it be deposited 
in the closed nest of the Common Wren, or that of the 
Chiff-Chaff* and other small kinds. The piratic habit 
governs the Cuckoo from its very birth, and the deceived 
foster-parent, by her kindness, has brought out, in the 
ruthless foundling, the dragon of her own offspring, every 
one of them being instinctively thrown out of the nest to 
die by this intruder on nature’s benevolence. So exclu- 
sive, indeed, isthis assumption of usurped existence, that 
when two Cuckoos have been hatched (as sometimes hap- 
pens) in the same nest, a continual contest ensued until 
the stronger ejected the weaker, and exposed it to perish! 
We shudder at the instinctive expression of so much de- 
liberate treachery in nature, of a still deeper cast than 


* Sylvia hypolais. 


- 


YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, OR RAIN-CROW. 655 


that which presides over the birth of our Cow-Bunting, 
for here though the genuine brood mostly perish, as soon 
as they appear, the foundling exhibits no hostility towards 
them. But where we cannot follow nor explain the de- 
crees of nature, we must bow in reverence to its necessary 
and inscrutable laws. 

From reflections so appalling, on the birth of the for- 
eign Cuckoo, we may turn with satisfaction to the conjugal 
history of our present subject, which, early in May, or 
soon after its arrival, may be, at times, observed obstinately 
engaged in the quarrels of selective attachment. ‘The 
dispute being settled, the nest is commenced and usually 
fixed either in the horizontal branches of an apple tree, 
or in a thicket, a thorn bush, crab, cedar, or other small 
tree in some retired part of the woods. The fabric is 
usually very slovenly and hastily put together, and pos- 
sesses scarcely any concavity for the reception of the 
young, who, in consequence, often fall out of their uncom- 
fortable cradle. The nest is a mere flooring of twigs put 
together in a zig-zag form, then blended with green weeds 
or leaves, and withered blossoms of the maple, apple, or 
hickory catkins. A nest near the Botanic Garden had, 
besides twigs, fragments of bass-mat, and was now very 
uncomfortably heated and damp with the fermentation of 
the green tops of a species of maple introduced into it, 
and the whole swarmed with Thrush-lice or Millipedes, 
The eggs, usually 2 to 4, are of a bluish-green color, 
often pale, varying in the shade, and without spots; they 
are somewhat round and rather large. If they are handled 
before the commencement of incubation, the owner gene- 
rally forsakes the nest, but is very tenacious and affection- 
ate towards her young, and sits so close, as almost to allow 
of being taken off by the hand. She then frequently pre- 
cipitates herself to the ground fluttering, tumbling, and 


656 ZYGODACTYLI. 


feigning lameness in the manner of many other affectionate 
and artful birds, to draw the intruder away from the prem- 
ises of her brood. At such times, the mother also adds to 
the contrivance, by uttering most uncouth and almost 
alarming guttural sounds, like gud quah gwaih, as if choak- 
ing, as she runs along the ground. While the female is 
thus dutifully engaged in sitting on her charge, the male 
takes his station at no great distance, and gives alarm by 
his notes, at the approach of any intruder; and when the 
young are hatched, both unite in the labor of providing 
them with food, which, like their own, consists clefly of 
the hairy caterpillars, rejected by other birds, that so com- 
monly infest the apple trees, and live in communities with- 
in a commonsilky web. ‘They also devour the large yellow 
cock-chaffer,* Carabi, and other kinds of insects, as well 
as various sorts of berries; but their worst propensity is 
the parasitic habit of sucking the eggs of other birds, thus 
spreading ruin and dismay wherever they approach. ‘They 
hatch several broods in a season, and [ have seen a nest 
with eggs in it as late as the 28th of August! though they 
usually take their departure in some part of the month of 
September. Considering the time they are engaged in 
breeding, they raise but few young, appearing to be im- 
provident nurses, and bad nest-makers, so that a consid- 
erable part of their progeny are either never hatched, or 
perish soon after. They are greatly attached to places 
where small birds resort, for the sake of sucking their 
eggs; and I have found it difficult at times to eject them, 
as when their nests are robbed, without much concern, 
they commence again in the same vicinity, but adding cau- 
tion to their operations, in proportion to the persecution 
they meet with; in this way, instead of their exposing the 


* Melolontha lanigera. 


YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, OR RAIN-CROW. 657 


nest in some low bush, I have, with difficulty, met with 
one, at last, in a tall larch, more than 50 feet from the 
ground. When wholly routed, the male kept up a monrn- 
ful kow kow kow for several days, appearing now sen- 
sible by experience of the misery of his own predatory 
practices. 

Careless in providing comfort for their progeny, the 
American Cuckoo, like that of Europe, seems, at times, 
inclined to throw the charge of her offspring on other 
birds. Approaching to this habit, I have found an egg of 
the Cuckoo in the nest of a Cat-bird; yet, though the 
habitation had been usurped, the intruder probably intend- 
ed to hatch her own eggs. At another time, on the 15th of 
June (1830), I saw a Robin’s nest with 2 eggs in it, indent- 
ed and penetrated by the bill of a bird, and the egg of a 
Cuckoo deposited in the same nest. Both birds forsook 
the premises, so that the object of this forcible entry 
was not ascertained; though the mere appropriation of 
the nest would seem to have been the intention of the 
Cuckoo. 


This species is about 12 inches long; and 16 in alar extent. Above 
dark greyish-brown with greenish and yellowish silky reflections. 
Tail long, the 2 middle feathers of the color of the back ; the others 
dusky, gradually shortening to the outer ones, with large white tips; 
the 2 outer scarcely half the length of the middle ones. Below 
white ; the feathers of the thighs large, and hiding the knees as in 
the Hawks. Legs and feet pale greyish-blue. Iris hazel, eyelids yel- 
low or black. Lower part of the upper mandible also yellow. Inner 
coat of the stomach villous. —In the female, which is larger, the 4 
middle tail-feathers are without white spots. 


ST. DOMINGO CUCKOO. 


(Coccyzus dominicus, Nowis. Cuculus dominicus, Lin. Black-billed 
Cuckoo. C. erythrophthalmus, Wixson, iv. p. 16. pl. 28 fig. 2. 
Avpvuson, pl. 32. Orn. i. p. 170. Phil. Museum, No. 1854.) 


658 ZYGODACTYLI. 


Sere. Cuaract.— Dark greyish-brown with faint bronzy reflec- 
tions; beneath white, inclining to cinereous on the throat and 
breast; inner vanes of the primaries partly yellowish-white ; bill 
black ; a naked red space round the eye. 


Tus species, so nearly related to the preceding, is also 
equally common, throughout the United States in summer, 
and extends its migrations about as far as the line of Nova 
Scotia or Newfoundland. This kind also exists in the 
island of St. Domingo and Guiana, and those who visit us 
probably retire to pass the winter in the nearest parts of 
tropical America. They arrive in Massachusetts later 
than the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and the first brood are 
hatched here about the 4th of June. In Georgia they be- 
gin to lay towards the close of April. ‘Their food, like 
that of the preceding, also consists of hairy caterpillars, 
beetles, and other insects, and even minute shell-fish. ‘They 
also, like many birds of other orders, swallow gravel to as- 
sist digestion. 

They usually retire into the woods to breed, being less 
familiar than the former, choosing an evergreen bush or 
sapling for the site of the nest, which is made of twigs, 
pretty well put together, but still little more than a concave 
flooring, and lined with moss occasionally, and withered 
catkins of the hickory. The eggs are smaller, and 3 to 5 
in number, of a bluish-green. The female sits very close 
on the nest, admitting a near approach before flying; the 
young, before acquiring their feathers, are of a uniform 
bright greyish-blue; at a little distance from the nest the 
male keeps up the usual rattling call of kow kow kow kow, 
the note increasing in loudness and quickness ; sometimes 
the call seems like kh’ kl’ kl’ kh’ ’kh’kah, the notes grow- 
ing louder and running together like those of the Yellow- 
winged Woodpecker. This species has also, before rain, a 
peculiar call, in a raucous guttural voice, like orrattotoo or 
worrattoteo. ‘This species is less timorous than the Yel- 


MANGROVE CUCKOO. 659 


low-billed kind; and near the nest with young, I have 
observed the parent composedly sit and plume itself for a 
considerable time without showing any alarm at my pres- 
ence. ‘This bird is also equally addicted to the practice of 
sucking birds’ eggs. Indeed, one which I saw last sum- 
mer, kept up for hours a constant watch after the eggs of a 
Robin sitting in an apple tree, who, with her mate, kept up 
at intervals a running fight with the Cuckoo for two days in 
succession. 


The Black-billed species is about 124 inches long. The 2 central 
tail-feathers unspotted, the white terminal spots on the rest smaller 
and bordered with dusky. Inner lining, and inner webs of the wing 
quills, of a delicate cream-color. Wings pointed, the Ist primary 
very short, the 2d a little more than 4 an inch shorter than the 3d, 
which is scarcely longer than the 4th; the rest of the quills are, 
again, beyond the 4th, all regularly graduated to the secondaries ; 
there is a strong tinge of cinnamon-brown edging about the centre of 
the wing,and on the anterior edges of the larger coverts. Bill bluish- 
black, the base of the lower mandible and ridge paler. Feet and legs 
dusky-bluish, the former very short, and hidden with feathers which 
surround the knee. The naked dull vermilion spot around the eye is 
very characteristic ; it is also attributed to the C. vetula or Long-billed 
Rain Cuckoo by Linneus, though not given at all in Buffon’s figure. 
In fact, the specific definition of Vetula applies wholly to our bird, 
and may be it instead of the species quoted under this name by La- 
tham. Although there appears to be a difference in the measurement 
of our bird from the C. dominicus of authors, Buffon gives it nearly 
12 inches, and Brisson saw a specimen from Louisiana, which could 
be no other than the present ; from his figure, however, no conclusion 
can be drawn on the subject. 


§ u. Tarsus longer than the toes, and the knees naked. 


+ MANGROVE CUCKOO. 


(Coccyzus Seniculus, Nowis. Avup. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 390. pl. 169. 
Cuculus Seniculus, Lara. Index 1. p. 219. No. 38. Isip. Synops. 
ii. p. 5387. No. 34. Burron, pl. Enlum, 813.) 


660 ZYGODACTYLI. 


Spec. Cuaract. — Cinereous-olive ; throat white, body below pale 
rufous ; lower mandible yellowish-white. 


Tuis species, said principally to inhabit Cayenne, occa- 
sionally visits the southernmost States, and Audubon found it 
rather common on the island of Key West, in East Florida. 
Like the preceding, it lives upon insects, and is particularly 
fond of the large caterpillars which prey upon the leaves of 
the Mangrove, and in the dense forests of which it conse- 
quently takes up its principal residence. Its nest and eggs 
are very similar to those of the preceding species, and it 
raises two broods in the season. It also sucks the eggs of 
other birds in their absence, is shy and vigilant, and does 
not extend its migrations apparently beyond the capes of 
Florida. This species I have never seen, and introduced 
it on the authority of Vieillot. It is said to resemble the 
Rain-Bird of Jamaica (Coccyzus vetula) in almost every 
thing but size, being only about 12 inches long. ‘The bill, 
light-colored below, is about 13 lines long (French meas- 
ure), and the tarsus 12. The tail is about 6 inches long, 
with the two middle feathers not spotted at the extremity, 
as are the rest. The bill is stouter and higher at the base 
apparently than in our common kinds. The nakedness and 
superior length of the tarsus, so different from the two pre- 
ceding species, appears to have afforded an exclusive un- 
modified generic trait to the founder of the genus, which 
we have endeavored to remedy by sectional divisions. 'The 
definition of C. vetula by Linneus, ‘‘ beneath testaceous, 
above brownish with red eyebrows,” induced Mr. Abbot, 
on the authority of Latham,* to quote the vetw/a as an in- 
habitant of Georgia (our C. dominicus) ; and there is little 
doubt but Linneus described from this species, so wholly 
different from that assumed as such by Latham (the Tacco), 


* Suppl. vol. ii. p. 135. No. 5. 


WOODPECKERS. 661 


which has never yet been seen within the boundaries of the 
United States. If the syononym of Linnzus had not been 
so embroiled by Latham, we should not have hesitated to 
give the name of vetula to Wilson’s C. erythrophthalma. 


PICIDA. WOODPECKERS. 


Tue BiLu long, or moderate, usually .straight, pyramidal, com- 
pressed, cuneate, and edged like scissors towards the point ; above 
in general, straightly carinat:d. Nosrrits basal, oval, open, though 
partly hidden by the advancing bristly feathers of the face. TonevE 
very long, extensile, armed with reversed bristles and sharp at the 
point. Fexrr short and robust, suited for climbing ; hind toes divided; 
the outer incapable of being reversed, the inner toe minute or rarely 
wanting ; the two anterior ones united at the base. Wings, moderate 
in length, the 1st primary very short, the 2d of middling length, and 
the 3d and 4th longest. Tail cuneiform, of 12 feathers, the 2 lateral 
being very short or wholly wanting, the shafts strong and elastic. — 
The female resembles the male, though readily distinguishable. The 
young sometimes considerably different. 

These unmusical, coarse, robust, and laborious birds dwell gene- 
rally in the solitude of the forest, are usually of a shy, suspicious, 
and retiring habit, and not easily reconciled to domestication. The 
peculiar structure of their feet and sharp nails enable them, by the 
additional support of the rigid tail, to ascend the trunks of trees and 
branches with singular address and celerity, either in straight or 
spiral lines. They feed principally upon the larve of those insects 
which perforate the wood of trees, and are consequently extremely 
useful scavengers to the public, and well deserve their protection. 
Some also collect ants and other kinds of insects ; and in the winter, 
as well as the summer, they also add various kinds of wild berries to 
their fare. Their operations are carried on chiefly in dead or decay- 
ing trees, which they perforate and strip of the bark with repeated 
strokes of their powerful wedged bills; in obedience to their habits 
they are seldom seen on the ground. By the acuteness of their 
hearing they discover the lodgment of their prey, and seldom cease 
till they have obtained it. While thus employed, the silent woods 
reverberate the stridulous echoes of their rapid and tremulous blows; 


56 


662 ZYGODACTYLI. 


and at length, darting their long, viscid tongues into the burrows of 
the insects, they extract them with ease and alacrity. Their nests 
are also made either in the natural or artificial excavations of the 
trunks of trees. They breed once in the year, and lay from 3 to 8, 
usually white and spotless, eggs. Their moult is simple or only 
annual. Species of this family are found in almost every part of the 
world. 


COLAPTES. (Swarns.) FLICKERS. 


Tue pitt long and gently curved, wedged at the point, and with 
the under mandible not carinated. Feet 4-toed,— Distantly allied to 
the American Cuckoos. Two other species of this genus, inhabit 
South Africa, at the Cape of Good Hope, The American species 
prey from preference on ants, in quest of which it often descends 
to the ground, as well as perforates decayed trees; they also in win- 
ter live much upon berries. 


FLICKER, or GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER. 


(Colaptes auratus, Swarxs. Picus auratus, L. W11son, i. p. 45. pl. 3. 
fig. 1. [male]. Avpvzon, pl. 37. Orn. Biog. i. p. 191 ) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Umber-brown, barred with black ; beneath yellow- 
ish-white, spotted with black ; a black crescent on the breast; a 
crimson red crescent on the hind head; wings and tail beneath, 
and shafts of all the larger feathers, golden-yellow. — The male 
alone with black mustachios. — Young, dull grey, without either 
the red or black crescent. 


Turs beautiful and well known bird breeds and inhabits 
throughout North America, from Labrador and the remotest 
wooded regions of the Fur Countries to Florida, being 


664 ZYGODACTYLI. 


partially migratory only from Canada and the Northern 
States, proceeding to the south in October, and returning 
north in April. From the great numbers seen in the 
Southern States in winter, it is evident that the principal 
part of the species migrate thither from the North and 
West to pass the inclement season, which naturally deprives 
them of the means of acquiring their usual sustenance. At 
this time also they feed much on winter berries, such as 
those of the sumach, smilax, and misseltoe. In the Middle 
States, some of these birds find the means of support 
through the most inclement months of the winter. In New 
England, they reappear about the begining of April, soon 
after which they commence to pair and build; for this pur- 
pose they often make choice of the trunk of a decayed 
apple or forrest tree, at different heights from the ground. 
When an accidental cavity is not conveniently found, con- 
fident in the formidable means provided them by nature, 
with no other aid than the bill, they have been known to 
make a winding burrow through a solid oak for 15 inches 
in length. At this labor, for the greater security and priv- 
acy, they continue till Jate in the evening, and may be heard 
dealing blows as loud and successive as if aided by the 
tools of the carpenter. My friend, Mr. Gambel, observed 
the present spring, (1840) a burrow of this kind in Cam- 
bridge, excavated out of the living trunk of a Sassafras 
about 15 feet from the ground. It was about 8 inches in 
diameter, and 18 inches deep, dug with a shelving in- 
clination ; and was continued at intervals for more than 4 
weeks before it was completed. The eggs, about 6, and 
pure white, are deposited merely upon the fragments of 
wood which line the natural or artificial cavity thus forming 
the nest. This cell, before the young are fledged, acquires 
arank and disagreeable smell ; and on inserting the hand 
into it, the brood unite in producing a hissing, like so many 


FLICKER, OR GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER. 665 


hidden snakes. They at length escape from this fetid den 
in which they are hatched ; and, climbing sometimes into 
the higher branches of the tree, are there fed until able to 
fly. Atother times the young cling to their protecting cell 
with great pertinacity so that the female will often call upon 
them for hours together, (gueadh queadh) trying every art to 
induce them to quit their cradle ; punishing them by fasting, 
till at length they are forced to come out and answer to her 
incessant plaint. If not disturbed they will occasionally 
approach the farm-house; and I have known a pair, like the 
Blue Birds, repair to the same hole in a poplar tree for sev- 
eral years in succession, merely cleaning out the old bed 
for the reception of their eggs and young. ‘They incubate 
by turns, feeding each other while thus confined to the nest, 
and are both likewise equally solicitous in feeding and pro- 
tecting their young, the food on this occasion is raised often 
from the throat where it has undergone a preparatory process 
for digestion. Inthe month of March, in Florida and Al- 
abama, I observed them already pairing, on which occasion 
many petulant quarrels daily ensued, from a host of rival 
suitors, accompanied by their ordinary cackling and squeal- 
ing. One of their usual complaisant recognitions, often 
delivered on a fine morning, from the summit of some lofty 
dead limb, is ’wit a’wit ’wit ’wit "wit ’wit ’wit weet and woit 
a woit, woit woit woit woit, commencing loud, and slowly 
rising and quickening till the tones run together into a noise 
almost like that of a watchman’s rattle. They have also 
a sort of complaining call, from which they have probably 
derived their name of pee ut, pee wt; and at times a plain- 
tive quédh quédh. Occasionally they also utter in a squeal- 
ing tone, when surprised, or engaged in amusing rivalry 
with their fellows, we-cogh we-cogh we-cogh we-cogh, or 
wecup, wecup wecup. 

The food of this species varies with the season; they 

56* 


666 ZYGODACTYLI. 


are at all times exceedingly fond of woodlice, ants, and 
their larve; and as the fruits become mature, they also 
add to their ample fare, common cherries, bird cherries, 
winter grapes, gum berries, those of the red-cedar, as 
well as of the sumach, smilax,* and other kinds. As the 
maize too ripens, while yet in the milky state, the Flicker 
pays frequent visits to the field, and the farmer, readily 
forgetful of his past services, only remembers his present 
faults, and, closing his career with the gun, unthinkingly 
does to himself and the public an essential injury, in saving 
a few unimportant ears of corn. In this part of New 
England they are known by the name of Pigeon Wood- 
peckers from their general bulk and appearance; and, to 
the disgrace of our paltry fowlers, they are, in the autumn, 
but too frequentiy seen exposed for sale in the markets, 
though their flesh is neither fat nor delicate. It is exceed- 
ingly to be regretted that ignorance and wantonness, in 
these particulars, should be so productive of cruelty, devas- 
tation, and injurious policy, in regard to the animals with 
whose amusing and useful company nature has so wonder- 
fully and beneficently favored us. 


The length of this species is about 12 inches, the alar extent 20. 
The back and wings above are of an umber-color, transversely barred 
with black ; the upper part of the head inclines to cinereous ; cheeks 
and region round the eye cinnamon-color, the throat and chin a lighter 
tint of the same; from the lower mandible a strip of black descending 
to the throat ; a crimson crescent on the hind head; sides of the neck 
bluish-grey ; a black broadish crescent on the breast. Below yellow- 
ish-white, each feather with a distinct round central black spot, those 
on the thighs and vent heart-shaped. Lower side of the wing and 
tail, as well as the shafts of most of the larger feathers golden-yellow ; 
Rump white ; the tail-coverts white, and curiously serrated with 
black ; upper side of the tail and tip below black, the 2 exterior 


* Particularly those of S. laurifolia, 


IMPERIAL WOODPECKER. 667 


feathers serrated with whitish ; shafts black towards the tips, the 2 
middle ones almost wholly so. Bill 14 inches long, of a dusky horn- 
color. Legs and feet light blue. Iris hazel. 


RED-SHAFTED FLICKER. 


(Colaptes mexicanus, Swains. Avp. Orn. 11. p. 314. pl. 416. Colaptes 
mexicanus, Swans. North Zool. i. p. 315. Picus Cafer, Laru. 
Ind. C. collaris, Vicors. Zool. Journ. 15. p. 34.) 


Spec. Cuaracrt. — Shafts of nearly all the feathers orange-red ; maxil- 
lary stripe blood-red ; body beneath vinaceous. The rest of the 
plumage generally as in P. auratus. 


Tus fine species was described by Swainson from Mex- 
ican specimens. In our western tour we first met with this 
species in the narrow belt of forest which borders Lorimie’s 
Fork of the Platte, and never scarcely lost sight of it in 
similar situations to the shores of the Pacific. Its manners 
in all respects are so entirely similar to those of the com- 
mon species, that the same description applies to both. It 
is, however, always a much shier bird, and frequents the 
ground less. In the breeding season it utters the same 
echoing note of whitto whitto whitto; the males at the same 
time dodging after, and pursuing each other in jealousy and 
anger. ‘They also burrow into the oak or pine trees, and 
lay white eggs after the manner of the whole family. How 
far they proceed to the north I am unable to say. To the 
south they are met with in all parts of Upper California. 


Length 134 inches. Wing from the flexure 63 inches. 


IMPERIAL WOODPECKER. 


(Picus imperialis, Goutp. Aun. Orn. 5. p. 313.) 


Spec. Cnaract.— Glossy greenish-black ; the elongated occipital 
crest scarlet; a triangular spot on the fore part of the back, the 


668 ZY GODACTYLI. 


secondary quills, and the inner webs of most of the primaries white; 

bill ivory white. — Female similar, smaller, and without red on the 

head. 

Seecimens of this splendid bird were first obtained from 
the interior of California and described by Mr. Gould. My 
friend Townsend, about the middle of August, shot a bird 
of this species in the Rocky Mountains towards the Colorado 
of the West. It kept in the tall pine trees and was very shy. 
Its note so much resembled that of the Red-Headed species 
that we were both at first deceived by it. It is readily dis- 
tinguished from the P. principalis by its superior size, by 
the length of its crest, the absence of the white stripe which 
ornaments the neck of that bird, and by the black bristles 
of the nostrils. 


Length 2 feet; closed wings 1 foot ; tail 10 inches, tarsus abont 2 
inches. Bill exactly cuneate, from the gape to the tip 4 inches lung, 
at the base 1 inch wide. 


PICUS. (Lix.) WOODPECKERS. 


Bitz straight and carinated above and below; other characters the 
same with the family. 


IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus principalis, L. Wison, iv. p. 20. pl. 29. fig. 1. [male.] Av- 
pupon, pl. 66. Orn. i. p. 341. [a very imposing and spirited group.] 
Phil. Museum, No. 1884.) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Black; crest red and black ; secondaries, rump, 
and a stripe on each side, white ; the bill white. — In the female 
and young the crest is wholly black 


T'uts large and splendid species is a native of Brazil, 
Mexico, and the Southern States, being seldom seen to 
the north of Virginia, and but rarely in that state. It is 


IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER. 669 


+ 


a constant resident in the countries where it is found, in 
the warmer regions, breeding in the rainy season, and the 
pair are believed to be united for life. More vagrant, 
retiring, and independent than the rest of his family, he is 
never found in the precincts of cultivated tracts; the 
scene of his dominion is the lonely forest amidst trees of 
the greatest magnitude. His reiterated trumpeting note, 
somewhat similar to the high tones of the clarinet (pait 
pait pait pait), is heard, soon after day, and until a late 
morning hour, echoing loudly from the recesses of the 
dark cypress swamps, where he dwells in domestic security, 
without showing any impertinent or necessary desire to 
quit his native solitary abodes. Upon the giant trunk and 
moss-grown arms of this colossus of the forest, and amidst 
almost inaccessible and ruinous piles of mouldering logs, 
the high rattling clarion and rapid strokes of this princely 
Woodpecker are often the only sounds which vibrate 
through, and communicate an air of life to these dismal 
wilds. His stridulous, interrupted call, and loud, indus- 
trious blows, may often be heard for more than half a 
mile, and become audible, at various distances, as the 
elevated mechanic raises or depresses his voice, or as he 
flags or exerts himself in his laborious employment. His 
retiring habits, loud notes, and singular occupation, amidst 
scenes so savage yet majestic, afford withal a peculiar 
scene of solemn grandeur, on which the mind dwells for a 
moment with sublime contemplation, convinced that there 
is no scene in nature devoid of harmonious consistence. 
Nor is the performance of this industrious hermit less 
remarkable than the peals of his sonorous voice, or the 
loud choppings of his powerful bill. He is soon sur- 
rounded with striking monuments of his industry; like a 
real carpenter (a nick-name given him by the Spaniards), 
he is seen surrounded with cart-loads of chips, and broad 


670 ZYGODACTYLI, 


flakes of bark, which rapidly accumulate round the roots 
of the tall pine and cypress where he has been a few hours 
employed ; the work of half a dozen men, felling trees for 
a whole morning, would scarcely exceed the pile he has 
produced in quest of a single breakfast upon those insect 
larve which have already, perhaps, succeeded in deadening 
the tree preparatory to his repast. Many thousand acres 
of pine trees, in the Southern States, have been destroyed 
im a single season by the insidious attacks of insects, 
which in the dormant state are not larger than a grain of 
rice. It is in quest of these enemies of the most imposing 
part of the vegetable creation that the industrious and 
indefatigable Woodpecker exercises his peculiar labor. In 
the sound and healthy tree he finds nothing which serves 
him for food. 

One of these birds, which Wilson wounded, survived 
with him nearly three days, but was so savage and uncon- 
querable as to refuse all sustenance. When taken, he 
reiterated a loud and piteous complaint, almost exactly 
like the violent crying of a young child; and on being 
left alone in a tavern, in the course of an hour, he had 
nearly succeeded in making his way through the side of 
the wooden house. He also cut the author severely in 
several places while engaged in drawing his portrait, and 
displayed, as long as he survived, the unconquerable 
spirit of a genuine son of the forest. From his magnan- 
imous courage and ardent love of liberty, the head and 
bill are in high esteem among the amulets of the southern 
Indians. 

The nest of this species is usually made in the living 
trunk of the cypress tree, at a considerable height, both 
sexes alternately engaging in the labor. The excavation 
is said to be two or more feet in depth. The eggs, 4 or 
5, are white, and nearly of equal thickness at either end. 


PILEATED WOODPECKER, OR LOG-COCK. 671 


The young are fledged and abroad about the middle of 
June. It is usually known by the name of the Large Log- 
cock, 'This species appears to live almost wholly upon in- 
sects, and chiefly those that bore into the wood, which 
never fail in the country he inhabits; nor is he ever known 
to taste of Indian corn, or any other sort of grain, or or- 
chard fruits, though he has a fondness for grapes and other 
kinds of berries. 


This species is about 21 inches in length, and about 20 in alar di- 
mensions. The general color black, with a gloss of green. Fore 
part of the head black, the rest of the crest crimson, with some white 
at the base. A stripe of white proceeds, from a little below the eye, 
down each side of the neck, and along the back, (where the two are 
about an inch apart), nearly tothe rump. Tail black, tapering from 
the 2 exterior feathers, which are 3 inches shorter than the middle 
ones, the feathers concave below. Legs lead-color. Bill an inch 
broad at base, of the color and consistence of ivory, and channelled 
The tongue also white. Iris vivid yellow. 


PILEATED WOODPECKER, or LOG-COCK. 


(Picus pileatus, L. Wixson, iv. p. 27. pl. 29. fig. 2. [male.] Aup, Orn. 
i, p. 74. pl. 13.) 
Spec. Cuaract. — Brownish-black ; crest red ; chin, a stripe on either 


side of the neck, as well as the base of the quill-feathers, and un- 
der wing-coverts, white ; the bill black. —The mustachios of the 


male red; in the female and young dusky. 


Tuts large and common Woodpecker, considerably re- 
sembling the preceding species, is not unfrequent in well 
timbered forests, from Mexico and Oregon to the remote 
regions of Canada, as far as the 63d degree of north lat- 
itude ; and in all the intermediate region he resides, breeds, 
and passes most of the year, retiring in a desultory manner 
only into the Southern States for a few months, in the most 


672 ZYGODACTYLI. 


inclement season, from the north and west. In Pennsyl- 
vania, however, they are seen as residents more or less 
throughout the whole year; and Mr. Hutchins met with 
this species in the interior of Hudson’s Bay, near Albany 
river, in the month of January. It is however, sufficiently 
singular, and shows perhaps the wild timidity of this 
northern chief of his tribe, that, though an inhabitant to- 
wards the savage and desolate sources of the Mississippi, 
he is unknown, at this time, in all the maritime parts of the 
populous and long settled state of Massachusetts. In the 
western parts of the state of New York he is sufficiently 
common in the uncleared forests, which have been the per- 
petual residence of his remotest ancestry. From the tall 
trees, which cast their giant arms over all the uncleared 
river lands, may often be heard his loud, echoing, and in- 
cessant cackle, as he flies restlessly from tree to tree, pre- 
saging the approach of rainy weather. These notes 
resemble ekerek rek rek rek rek rek rek, uttered in a loud 
cadence, which gradually rises and falls. The marks of 
his industry are also abundantly visible on the decaying 
trees, which he probes and chisels with great dexterity, 
stripping off wide flakes of loosened bark, to come at the 
burrowing insects which chiefly compose his food. In what- 
ever engaged, haste and wildness seem to govern all his 
motions, and by dodging and flying from place to place, as 
soon as observed, he continues to escape every appearance 
of danger. Even in the event of a fatal wound, he still 
struggles with unconquerable resolution, to maintain his 
grasp on the trunk to which he trusts for safety, to the very 
instant of death. When caught by a disabling wound, he 
still holds his ground against a tree, and strikes with bit- 
terness the suspicious hand which attempts to grasp him, 
and, resolute for his native liberty, rarely submits to live 
in confinement. Without much foundation, he is charg- 


LINEATED WOODPECKER. 673 


ed, at times, with tasting maize. In winter, in South 
Carolina, I have observed them occasionally making a 
hearty repast on holly and smilax berries. Like the pre- 
ceding, the Log-cock frequently digs out a cavity in some 
tree, as a deposit for his eggs and brood. ‘The eggs are 
about 6, of a snowy whiteness; and they are said to raise 
two broods in the season. 


The Pileated Woodpecker is about 18 inches in length, and 28 in 
alar extent. The crest and mustachios bright scarlet, inclining to 
crimson. Chin, stripe from the nostrils passing down the side of the 
neck to the sides and extending under the wings, white; the upper 
half of the wings white, but concealed by the black coverts ; lower 
extremities of the wings, and the rest of the body brownish-black. 
Legs lead color. Bill fluted, bluish-black above, below, and at point 
bluish-white. Iris golden. 


LINEATED WOODPECKER, 
(Picus lineatus, Aup. Lin. Orn. Biog. v, p. 315.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Black; upper part of the head, a patch on the 
cheek, and crest, scarlet; lores dusky; a white line from the bill 
down the neck and as far as the middle of the back; below the 
breast, which is partly black, brownish-white with dusky bars. 


A sINGLE specimen of this bird was sent from Oregon by 
the late Dr. Gairdner, to Edinburgh. If indentical with the 
Linnean species, it has a very extensive range throughout 
the tropical regions of America, being met with in Cayenne, 
Guiana, Brazil, and as far south as Paraguay. 


Length 15 inches; wing from the flexure about 7 inches. Bill 
horn-color, dusky at point. Feet greyish-blue. A patch including 
the eyelids and ear-coverts, leaden-grey ; a narrow band down the 
hind part of the neck gradually enlarging ; the back, wings, and tail, 
deep black ; a band from the nostrils obliquely descending over the 

a7 


674 ZYGODACTYLI. 


side of the head, passing backwards behind the ear, enlarging, and 
running down the side of the neck to the shoulder, a large oblique 
patch at the commencement of the wing, including the outer scapu- 
lars, the small feathers on the edge of the wing, lower wing-coverts, 
and the inner webs of the quills for about half the length, pure white ; 
chin yellowish-white, longitudinally streaked with dusky, the rest of 
the fore-neck and a part of the breast black ; the lower parts and sides 
brownish-white, transversely barred with black. 


RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus erythrocephalus, L. Witson,i. p. 142. pl. 9. fig. 1. Aun. pl. 27. 
Orn. i. p. 141. Phil. Museum, No. 1922.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Head, neck, and throat, crimson; the back, wings 
and tail, black, with bluish reflections; secondaries, rump, lower 
part of the back, and under parts of the body, white. ~ Female less 
brightly colored. —The young with the head and neck dull grey, 
varied with blackish. 


Tis common and well-known species is met with along 
the coast from Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico, and in- 
land in the region of the Rocky Mountains and about the 
sources of the Mississippi. In all the intermediate country, 
however extensive, it probably resides and breeds. At the 
approach of winter, or about the middle of October, they 
migrate from the North and West, and consequently appear 
very numerous in the Southern States at that season. Many 
of them also probably pass into the adjoining provinces of 
Mexico, and they reappear in Pennsylvania, (according to 
Wilson,) about the first of May. According to Audubon, 
they effect their migration in the night, flying high above 
the trees in a straggling file, at which time they are heard 
to emit a sharp and peculiar note, easily heard from the 
ground, although the birds themselves are elevated beyond 
the sight. Like the Log-cock, the present species is but 


RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 675 


rarely seen in the maritime parts of Massachusetts ; this 
region is only occasionally visited by solitary stragglers ; 
yet, in the western parts of the State, they are said to be as 
common as in the Middle States. 

They live principally in old forests of tall trees, but are 
much less shy than most of the genus, frequently visiting 
the orchards in quest of ripe fruits, particularly cherries, 
and juicy pears and apples, with which they likewise occa- 
sionally feed their young. They also, at times, eat acorns, 
of which they are said to lay up a store, and visit the maize 
fields, being partial to the corn while in its juicy or milky 
state. In consequence of these dependent habits of sub- 
sistence, the Red-headed Woodpecker is a very familiar 
species, and even sometimes not only nests in the orchard 
which supplies him with sustenance, but ventures to rear 
his brood within the boundaries of the most populous towns. 
In the latter end of summer, their reiterated tappings and 
cackling screams are frequently heard from the shady forests 
which border the rivulets in more secluded and less fertile 
tracts. It is also not uncommon to observe them on the 
fence-rails and posts, near the public roads, flitting before 
the passenger with the familiarity of Sparrows. In the 
Southern States, where the mildness of the climate prevents 
the necessity of migration, this brilliant bird seems half 
domestic. The ancient live oak, his cradle and resi- 
dence, is cherished as a domicil, he creeps around its 
ponderous weathered arms, views the passing scene with 
complacence, turns every insect visit to his advantage, and 
for hours together placidly reconnoitres the surrounding 
fields ; at times he leaves his lofty citadel to examine the 
rails of the fence, or the boards of the adjoining barn; 
striking terror into his lurking prey by the stridulous tap- 
pings of his bill, he hearkens to their almost inaudible 
movements, and discovering their retreat, dislodges them 


676 ZYGODACTYLI. 


from their burrows, by quickly and dexterously chiseling 
out the decaying wood in which they are hid, and trans- 
fixing them with his sharp and barbed tongue. But his 
favorite and most productive resort is to the adjoining fields 
of dead and girdled trees ; amidst whose bleaching trunks, 
and crumbling branches, he long continues to find an am- 
ple repast of depredating and boring insects. When the 
cravings of appetite are satisfied, our busy hunter occa- 
sionally gives way to a playful or quarrelsome dispo- 
sition, and with shrill and lively vociferations, not unlike 
those of the neighboring tree-frog, he pursues in a grace- 
ful curving flight his companions or rivals round the bare 
limbs of some dead tree to which they resort for combat 
or frolic. 

About the middle of May, in Pennsylvania, they burrow 
out or prepare their nests in the large limbs of trees, ad- 
ding no materials to the cavity which they smooth out for 
the purpose. As with the Blue-Bird, the same tree con- 
tinues to be employed for several years in succession, and 
probably by the same undivided pair. The eggs, about 6, 
are said to be white and translucent. The first brood make 
their appearance about the 20th of June. The eggs and 
young of this, and many other birds, occasionally fall a 
prey to the attacks of the common Black Snake. The 
young are easily tamed for a while ; and when left at large, 
come for some time regularly to be fed, uttering a cry to 
call attention. I have seen them feed on corn-meal paste, 
a large piece of which the bird would carry off to a dis- 
tance and eat it at leisure. 


The length of this species is about 94 to 10 inches, the alar stretch 
about 17. Bill light blue. Legs bluish-green. Iris dark hazel. 


RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 677 


RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus carolinus, L. Witson, i. p. 118. pl. 7. fig. 2. [male.] Avp. Orn. 
v. p. 169. pl. 415. Phil. Museum, No. 1944.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Barred with black and white; head and neck 
above red-lead color; cheeks and parts beneath pale yellowish- 
buff; the belly tinged with red. — Female and young with the fore 
part of the head without red. 


Tuts species inhabits the whole North American con- 
tinent, from the interior of Canada to Florida, and even 
the island of Jamaica, in all of which countries it proba- 
bly rears its young, migrating only partially from the colder 
regions. This also, like the preceding, is unknown in 
all the eastern parts of Massachusetts and probably New 
Hampshire. 

The Red-Bellied Woodpecker, dwells in the solitude of 
the forest ; amidst the tall and decayed trees only he seeks 
his less varied fare, and leads a life of roving wildness and 
independence, congenial with his attachment to freedom 
and liberty. Sometimes, however, on the invasion of his 
native haunts by the progress of agriculture, he may be 
seen prowling among the dead and girdled trees which 
now afford him an augmented source of support; and, as 
a chief of the soil, he sometimes claims his native rights 
by collecting a small tithe from the usurping field of 
maize. His loud and harsh call of ’tshow ’tshow ’tshow 
*tshow, reiterated like the barking of a cur, may often be 
heard, through the course of the day, to break the silence 
of the wilderness in which his congenial tribe are almost 
the only residents. On a fine spring morning, I have ob- 
served his desultory ascent up some dead and lofty pine, 
tapping at intervals, and dodging from side to side, as he 
ascended in a spiral line; at length, having gained the 
towering summit, while basking in the mild sunbeams, he 


57* 


78 ZYGODACTYLI. 


surveys the extensive landscape, and almost with the same 
reverberating sound as his blows, at intervals, he utters 
a loud and solitary *cur’rh in a tone as solemn as the 
tolling of the Campanero; he thus hearkens, as it were, 
to the shrill echoes of his own voice, and for an hour at a 
time, seems alone employed in contemplating, in cherished 
solitude and security, the beauties and blessings of the 
rising day. 

The nest, early in April, is usually made in some lofty 
branch; and in this necessary labor both the sexes unite 
to dig out a circular cavity for the purpose, sometimes out 
of the solid wood, but more commonly into a hollow limb. 
The eggs, about 5, are white, and the young appear 
towards the close of May or early in June, climbing out 
upon the higher branches of the tree, where they are fed 
and reared until able to fly, though in the mean time from 
their exposure they often fall a prey to prowling Hawks. 
They usually raise but one brood in the season; and may 
be considered, like the rest of their insect-devouring fra- 
ternity, as useful scavengers for the protection of the for- 
est, their attacks, as might be reasonably expected, being 
always confined to decaying trees, which alone afford the 
prey for which they probe. 


This species is about 10 inches in length, and about 17 in alar 
extent. The vent and femorals are dull-white, marked in their 
centres with heart and arrow shaped spots of blackish. Wings and 
back crossed with numerous bars of black and white; rump white, 
spotted with black. Tail of 10 feathers, the middle ones black, their 
interior vanes white, crossed with diagonal spots of black; the next 
four feathers on each side are black, the outer edges of the exterior 
ones barred with black and white, the extremities, except the outer 
feathers, are black, sometimes touched with yellowish white. Legs 
bluish-green. Bill bluish-black. Inids red. 


LEWIS’S WOODPECKER. 679 


LEWIS’S WOODPECKER. 


(Picus torquatus, Witson, Am. Orn. iii. p. 31. pl. 20. fig. 3. Aub. 
Orn. 5. p. 176. pl. 416. Phil. Museum, No. 2020.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Black, glossed with green ; front, chin, and cheeks 
dark red; collar round the neck, and breast, silvery-white ; below 
glossy red; abdomen black. Young with scarcely any red on the 
head and without the white ring. 


Tuis remarkable species was first brought from the Ore- 
gon territory by Lewis and Clarke. About the middle of 
July we met with this bird on our progress westward in 
the central chain of the Rocky Mountains, in the Cedar 
and Pine woods of Bear River, which empties into the 
remarkable lake of Timpanagos, in Upper California. 
They were already feeding their young, inhabiting the 
decayed trunks of the Pine trees. According to Mr. 
Townsend they are at first silent, but after incubation 
commences, they become very noisy and quarrelsome, 
driving away all other birds from the vicinity of their 
nests, and sharing alike the task of incubation. After- 
wards, at the close of August, in the plains 60 miles up 
the Wahlamet, flocks chiefly of young birds, from 12 to 
20 or more together were to be seen shifting backwards 
and forwards in the trees near the river, playing about 
like so many sportive Jackdaws, which the young so much 
resemble in color. ‘They often perch in the usual manner 
of other birds, as well as climb, but they are also in the 
habit of darting out from their station and after performing 
a circular sweep return to the branch, spreading their 
wings horizontally and sailing like so many Hawks. Now 
and then they alight to feed, but remain silent, and are 
very shy, the whole flock starting at any near approach. 
These gregarious autumnal flocks, would scarcely have 


680 ZYGODACTYLI, 


been recognized for Woodpeckers, for they perched like 
so many Starlings, and did not climb the branches, or tap 
in the least, but merely watched and darted after insects, 
or devoured berries like Thrushes. We seldom saw this 
remarkable species in the thick forests of the Oregon, or 
in any settled part of Upper California. 


The length of the specimens were 113 inches. The back, wings, 
and tail, black. Legs and feet dusky. Bull dark horn color, 


YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus varius, Witson, 1. p. 147. pl. 9. f. 2. [male]. Bonar. Am. 
Orn. i. p. 75. pl. 8. f. 1, 2. [young]. Aup. Orn. ii. p. 519. pl. 190. 
Phil. Museum, No. 2004.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Varied with black and white, the back spotted 
with pale yellow; front, crown, and anterior part of the throat 
crimson ; breast and belly, light yellow. — Female, with the throat 
and hind-head whitish-— Young, without yellow nearly on the 
back, with a broad white band across the wings; the belly yel- 
lowish. 


Tus species, according to the season, extends over the 
whole American continent, from the 53d degree to the 
tropic, where they are seen in Cayenne. ‘They likewise 
inhabit the table land of Mexico; and are believed to fre- 
quent the borders of lake Baikal in Asia. In most part of 
this extensive region, the species dwell and breed. With 
us they are most common in summer in the Northern and 
Middle States, and as far north as Nova Scotia. At this 
season, it is seldom seen beyond the precincts of the for- 
ests in which it selects the most solitary recesses, leaving 
its favorite haunts only at the approach of winter, and 
seeking from necessity or caprice, at this roving season, 
the boundaries of the orchard. Its habits are but little 


RED-BREASTED WOODPECKER. 681 


different from those of the Hairy and Downy Woodpeck- 
ers with which they are often associated in their foraging 
excursions. The nest, as usual, is made in the body of 
some decayed orchard or forest tree, the circular entrance 
to which is left only just sufficient for the passage of the 
parties, the depth of the cavity is about 15 inches, and the 
eggs 4 or upwards, are likewise white. Their principal 
food is insects, for which they sometimes bore the trunks 
of the orchard trees. 


This species is about 84 inches long, with the alar extent (or stretch 
of the wings) 15 inches. Sides under the wings, dusky yellow, 
spotted longitudinally with black. The red of the throat surrounded 
with black extending over the breast. Tail black, the two central 
feathers white on their inner vanes and spotted with black. Legs 
and feet dusky blue, inclining to green. Bull, dusky horn-color, 
rather long and stout. 


RED-BREASTED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus ruber, Gmevin. Larn. 3. p. 397. No. 69. Aun. Orn. 5. p. 179. 
pl. 416.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Head, neck, and breast, red; back and wings 
black ; middle of the breast and abdomen pale yellow, sides and 
rump spotted with dusky ; a white patch on the wing. 


Tuts species, first seen by us in the forests of the Ore- 
gon and the Blue Mountains of the same country, has 
most of the habits of the Common Red-Headed species. 
It is, however, much less familiar, and keeps generally 
among the tall fir trees, in the dead trunks of which it 
burrows out a hole for a nest, sometimes at a great eleva- 
tion. On approaching one which was feeding its young 
in one of these situations, it uttered a loud reverberating 
rr ?rr, and seemed angry and solicitous at my approach. 


682 ZYGODACTYLI. 


The same species also inhabits Upper California as well as 
the North-west coast up to Nootka. It is also found east- 
ward as far as the central chain of the Rocky Mountains. 
This species is also said to inhabit Cayenne and even the 
woods of Paraguay. ‘The eggs, from a nest which con- 
tained 4, are pure white. 


Length 9 inches , bill on the ridge 11-12ths of an inch; wing from 
the flexure 5} inches. Bill and feet bluish-grey. The tufts over the 
nostrils yellowish, and from them a white band to beneath the eye. 
Eye-lid feathers black ; middle of the breast and abdomen yellow ; 
the feathers of the sides, ramp, and lower tail-coverts barred, or 
marked with a pointed dusky spot, their edges yellowish-white. Up- 
per parts black, the middle of the back spotted with yellowish-white. 
the rump and upper tail-coverts white on the inner webs and toward 
the tip on both. A large patch of white on the wing. Quills black, 
the 3 longest with 8 spots on the outer, and 5 on the inner web. Tail 
black, the two middle feathers with 3 or 4 white spots on the inner 
web, or white with several black bands. 


ANT-EATING WOODPECKER. 
(Picus formicivorus, Swainson. Philos. Mag. and Ann. June, 1827.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Glossy Blue-black; hind head red; front, rump, 
and band on the quills white ; throat yellow; breast black with 
white stripes. 

Tuts beautiful species is said to be common in the pine 
woods of Temiscaltipeck in the table land of Mexico. I 
observed it as a common species in the mountain forests 
around Sta. Barbara in Upper California, 


HAIRY WOODPECKER. 683 


HAIRY WOODPECKER. 


(Picus villosus, L. Witsox, Am. Orn. 1. p. 150. pl. 9. fig. 3. [male]. 
Aup. v. p. 164. pl. 416. Phil. Museum, No. 1988.) 


Spec. CHaract. — Varied with black and white ; beneath white; the 
back clothed with long, slender, loose feathers ; outer tail-feathers 
white, and spotless. — Male, with a small interrupted red occipital 
band, which in the female is black. 


Tuts common and almost familiar species is a resident in 
most parts of America from Hudson’s Bay to Florida, fre- 
quently approaching the cottage or the skirts of the town as 
well as the forest. It is likewise much attached to orchards, 
an active borer of their trunks, and an eager hunter after 
insects and larve in all kinds of decayed wood, even to 
stumps and the rails of the fences. In autumn it also feeds 
on berries and other fruits. In the month of May, accom- 
panied by his mate, he seeks out the seclusion of the woods, 
and, taking possession of a hollow branch, or cutting out a 
cavity anew, he forms his nest in a deep and secure cavern, 
though sometimes a mere stake of the fence answers the 
purpose. The eggs, about 5, white, as usual, are hatched 
in June. In the Southern States they have usually two 
broods in the season, and raise them both in the same nest, 
which is not unfrequently at no great distance from habita- 
tions. Their call consists in a shrill and rattling whistle, 
heard to a considerable distance. ‘They also give out a 
single querulous note of recognition while perambulating 
the trunks for food. According to Latham, accidental 
birds of this species have been met with in England, 

The length of this species is about 9 inches, the alar extent 15. 
The crown black. Wings black, tipped and spotted with white. 
The two exterior feathers of the tail white, terminating in an umber 
tint, Legs and feet grayish-blue. Bill bluish horn-color, straight, 
about 14 inches long. 


684 ZYGODACTYLI. 


GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus septentrionalis, Nozts. P. Canadensis, Aup. Orn. Biog. v. 
p- 188. pl. 417. fig. 7. non GmeEL.) 


Spec. Cnyaractr.— Varied with black and white; beneath white ; 
the back clothed with long and loose feathers ; outer tail-feathers 
white and spotless; bill robust. Length 103 inches. — Male with 
a red occipital band, which in the female is black. 


Tuts species, so nearly related to the P. villosus, is rather 
common in the northern parts of the continent as far as the 
63d parallel, as well as in the Oregon Territory. It remains 
the whole year in the Fur Countries, and is the most com- 
mon species up to the 56th degree, north of which it yields 
in frequency to the Three-toed Woodpecker. In winter it 
is sometimes seen as far South as Pennsylvania. Its notes 
are louder and shriller than those of P. villosus, it is also 
less active and petulant. ‘They feed on large coleopterous 
insects. This is probably the supposed P. minor, me by 
Latham to have been sent from New York. 


Length 103 inches. Extent of wings 173. Bill along the ridge 
nearly 13 inches. The plumage and markings are almost entirely 
similar with those of P. villosus, but the bill is proportionally stouter, 
and the 4th toe a little more elongated. In the National Museum, 
this and P. villosus are considered as the same species; it conse- 
quently is not the P. Canadensis of Brisson and Buffon, which is 
smaller, and has a yellow occipital band. 


AUDUBON’S WOODPECKER. 


(Picus Auduboni, TrupEav. Avup. Orn. Biog. v. p. 294. pl. 417. 
P. Canadensis 2? Latu. Hist. iii. p. 386. No. 58. [Ed. 2d.] non 
AvD.) 


Spec. CHaract.— Varied with black and white; beneath white ; 
feathers of the back long, loose and slender; outer tail-feathers 


CRIMSON-CROWNED WOODPECKER. 685 


white and spotless. — Male with a yellow patch on the fore part of 
the head. 


Tuts bird was obtained by Mr. Trudeau in a wood 15 
miles from New Orleans, in the latter end of April; another 
specimen was killed in Mississippi. I have also found it in 
the vicinity of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is probably 
the P. Canadensis of Latham, described by him and Bris- 
son as having a pale orange occipital band, and not a scar- 
let one, as in the P. Canadensis of Audubon. 


Length 74 inches; alar extent 134. Bull 1 inch, slightly curved on 
the upper edge. Crown, occiput, back of the neck, upper part of the 
wings and rump, black. A few yellow feathers on the fore part of 
the head, uniting on each side with a whitish line passing under the 
eyes to the occiput. A white band from the lower mandible to the 
neck. Wings black, crossed by 7 white bands. Tail of 10 feathers ; 
the outer one pure white, the 2d and 3d varied with black and white, 
the rest deep black. Iris brown. — Nearly allied to P. villosus, but 
smaller and without the red occipital band. 


CRIMSON-CROWNED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus rubricapillus, Novis. P. Martine, Avp. Orn. Biog. v. p. 181. 
pl. 417. Laru. Birds, ii. p. 380. No. 50. Ed. 2d.) 


Spec. Cnuaract. — Varied with black and white ; beneath whitish ; 
upper part of the head scarlet, front and occiput black, the two 
outer tail-feathers on each side white ; the sides mottled with grey. 


Tuts well-marked species was procured in the vicinity of 
Toronto, in Upper Canada. Its habits, as might be sup- 
posed from its affinity, are very similar with those of P. vil- 
losus. Its eggs, about 5 or 6, are said to be white and 
translucent, as usual, According to Abbot, this species is 
frequent in the oak and pine woods of Georgia. 


58 


686 ZYGODACTYLI, 


Length a little over 9 inches. Bill, on the ridge 1 inch, dusky and 
pointed. Wing, from the flexure near 5 inches. Feet bluish-grey. 
Bristly feathers about the nostrils and lower mandibles dull yellow ; 
over each eye a band of white ; a black band from the bill to the eye, 
passing over the auriculars to the black of the occiput; beneath the 
black band one of white proceeds from the angle of the mouth, and 
curving backwards below the middle of the neck, so as almost to 
meet its fellow behind ; this band is succeeded by another of black, 
proceeding from the base of the lower mandible, and continuous with 
the black of the shoulders. Seven spots on the outer web of the 4 
longest primaries, and 4 on the inner; on most of the secondaries 5 
on each web, but on the outer quill only one; and onthe 2d four spots 
on the outer and 3 on the inner web. Four middle tail-feathers 
black, the next black on the inner web, and the greater part of the 
outer toward the base ; the rest black only at the base, the 2 outer- 
most almost wholly white. Lower parts white, tinged with grey and 
a little red, the sides faintly mottled with dusky-grey.— Female with 
the patch on the head smaller, and yellowish red. 


PHILLIPS’S WOODPECKER. 
(Picus Phillipsii, Aup. Orn. v. p. 186. pl. 417. figs. 5, 6.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Varied with black and white ; below white ; front 
and crown orange-yellow ; occiput and neck black ; outermost tail- 


feather white. 


Tue only specimen yet known, an adult male, was killed 
in the vicinity of Cambridge, Massachusetts ; but nothing is 
known of its habits. 


Length 104 inches; bill along the ridge 14; wing from the flexure 
5 inches. Bill dusky. Irids red. Feet bluish-grey. Bristles over 
the nostrils yellowish-white ; over each eye a band of white passing 
beyond the auriculars; a black band from above the angle of the 
mouth to the eye, and behind it, including the auriculars; seven spots 
on the outer, and five on the inner web of the 4 largest primaries ; 
4 middle tail-feathers black, the rest black toward the base, that color 
gradually diminishing so that the outermost is almost wholly white. 


DOWNY WOODPECKER. 687 


HARRIS’S WOODPECKER. 


(Picus Harrisii, Aup. Orn. Biog. v. p. 191. pl. 417.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Varied with black and white ; below brownish- 
white ; no white spots on the wing-coverts ; crown and neck black ; 
superciliary band white, continuous with an occipital scarlet band ; 
5 white spots on the outer web of the 4 longest primaries, on the 
outer only 1 spot on the inner web, on the next 1 spot on the 
outer and 3 on the inner; outer tail-feathers white, except at the 
base. — Female without the red band. 


Tus species was observed and collected in the forests of 
the Oregon by Mr. Townsend. It is allied to P. villosus, 
but sufficiently distinct. Of its habits no information was 
obtained. 


Length 9 inches ; wing from the flexure 5 1-6th inches ; bill along 
the ridge 14 inches; 4th toe considerably longer than the 3d; 4th 
quill longest ; bristly feathers of the face dull yellow with black tips ; 
loral band black, continued behind the eye over the auriculars, and 
joining the black of the neck; beneath is a band of white from the 
mouth and continued below the middle of the neck, but without 
meeting the other; another black band from the base of the lower 
mandible running into the black of the neck and shoulders ; upper 
parts black, the quills tinged with brown; feathers of the back largely 
tipped with white ; quills, except the inner three, marked with small 
roundish spots, of which there are 5 on the outer and 4 on the inner 
web of the 4 longest quills, while on the outer there is only an elon- 
gated spot on the inner web, and on the next one spot on the outer 
and three on the inner. Four middle tail-feathers black, the next 
black, with a small part of the inner web and a large portion of the 
outer toward the end, white ; the rest white with the base black; the 
outermost small feathers almost wholly white. 


DOWNY WOODPECKER. 


(Picus pubescens, L. Witson, Am. Orn. i, p. 153. pl. 9. fig. 4. [male.] 
Avp. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 81. pl. 112. Phil. Museum, No. 1986.) 


688 ZYGODACTYLI. 


Spec. Coaract. — Varied with black and white; beneath white; 
back with long, slender, loose feathers ; outer tail-feathers white, 
with four black spots. — Male with a red occipital band, which in 
the female is black. 


Tuis species, the smallest of American Woodpeckers, 
agrees almost exactly with the P. villosus in its colors and 
markings. It is likewise resident throughout the same 
countries. About the middle of May also, the pair begin to 
look out a suitable deposit for their eggs and young. 
The entrance is in the form of a perfect circle, and only 
just left large enough for an individual to pass in and out. 
Both sexes labor for about a week at this task with indefa- 
tigable diligence, carrying on the burrow in some orchard 
tree, in two different directions, to the depth of 16 to 20 
inches down ; and to prevent suspicion they carry out the 
chips, and strew them at a distance. Theeggs are about 6, 
white, and deposited on the smooth bottom of the cavity. 
The male occasionally feeds his mate while sitting ; and 
about the close of June the young are observed abroad, 
climbing up the tree with considerable address. Sometimes 
the crafty House Wren interferes, and, driving the indus- 
trious tenants from their hole, usurps the possession. 
They have a shrill cackle, and a reiterated call, which 
they frequently utter while engaged in quest of their prey. 
In the autumn they feed on various kinds of berries as well 
as insects. No species can exceed the present in industry 
and perseverance. While thus regularly probing the bark 
of the tree for insects, it continues so much engaged as to 
disregard the approaches of the observer, though immediately 
under the tree. These perforations, made by our Sap- 
Suckers, as the present and Hairy species are sometimes 
called, are carried round the trunks and branches of the 
orchard trees in regular circles, so near to each other, that, 
according to Wilson, eight or ten of them may be covered 
by a dollar. The object of this curious piece of industry is 


DOWNY WOODPECKER. 689 


not satisfactorily ascertained, but whether it be done to 
taste the sap of the tree, or to dislodge vermin, it is certain 
that the plant escapes uninjured, and thrives as well or bet- 
ter than those which are imperforated. 

This diminutive and very industrious species is a con- 
stant inhabitant of the fur countries up to the 58th parallel ; 
seeking its food principally on the maple, elm and ash ; and 
north of latitude 54 degrees, where the range of these trees 
terminate, on the aspen and birch. The circles of round 
holes which it makes with so much regularity round the 
trunks of living trees, are no doubt made for the purpose of 
getting at the sweet sap which they contain. In the month 
of February, 1850, I observed these borers busy tapping the 
small live trunks of several Wax-Myrtles (Myrica cerifera), 
and these perforations were carried down into the alburnum 
or sap-wood, but no further; no insects could be expected, 
of course, in such situations, and at this season very few 
could be obtained any where. On examining the oozing 
sap, I found it to be exceedingly saccharine, but in some 
instances, astringent or nearly tasteless. ‘To a bird, like the 
present, which relishes and devours also berries, I make no 
doubt but that. this native nectar is sought after as agreeable 
and nutritious food, in the same manner as the Baltimore 
Bird collects the saccharine secretion of the fruit blossoms ; 
and in fact I have observed the Woodpecker engaged in 
the act of sipping this sweet fluid, which so readily supplies 
it, on all occasions, with a temporary substitute for more 
substantial fare. Sometimes, however, on discovering in- 
sects 1n a tree, it forgets its taste for the sap, and in quest 
of its prey occasionally digs deep holes into the trees large 
enough to admit its whole body. 


The Downy Woodpecker is about 6} inches in length, and 12 in 
alar extent. The bill only about % of an inch in length from the 
gape. The plumage very similar to that of the Hairy Woodpecker. 


o8* 


690 ZYGODACTYLI. 


LITTLE GEORGIAN WOODPECKER. 


(Picus (DenpRocorvs) meridionalis, Swaixs. North. Zool. ii. p. 308. 
[in note]. P. Gairdnerii, Aup. Orn. 5. p. 317.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Varied with black and white ; beneath brownish- 
grey ; crown black, a broad red band on the hind-head; 2d quill 
longer than the 8th, 4 middle tail feathers black, 2 lateral feathers 
white with 2 black bars on each towards the end. 


Tus species is scarcely distinguishable from P. pubes- 
cens ; it is, however, hair-brown beneath, has a broader red 
occipital band, with the white spots on the wings much 
smaller, and the black bands on the under obtuse tail-feath- 
ers, broader and more distinct. According to Swainson it 
inhabits Georgia, and we found it common in the territory 
of Oregon. In its habits and manners it can scarcely be 
distinguished from P. pubescens. 


Length 63 inches. Wing from the flexure 3 inches and ten-twelfths. 
The dark color of this species beneath is not the effect of soiling, as 
the feathers, after careful washing with soap, still retain all their grey 
color. 


RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus leucotis, Ixuicer. P. querulus, Witsox, Am. Orn. ii. p. 108. 
pl. 15. Aun. Orn. v. p. 12. pl. 389. Phil. Museum, No. 2027.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Varied with black and white; the back barred 
with white; below also white ; with the outer tail feathers white, 
spotted with black — Male, with a short yermilion-red line on each 
side of the head, wanting in the female. 


Tuts species, remarkable for the red stripe on the side 
of its head, was discovered by Wilson in the pine woods 
of North Carolina, from whence it exists, to the coast of 
the Mexican Gulf, and as far to the North and West as 
New Jersey and Tennessee. It is a very active and noisy 


NORTHERN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, 69l 


species, gliding with great alertness along the trunks and 
branches of trees, principally those of the oak and pine. At 
almost every move it utters a short shrill and clear note, 
audible at a considerable distance. In the breeding season, 
its call still more lively and petulant, is reiterated through 
the pine forests, where it now chiefly dwells. They are 
frequently seen by pairs in the company of the smaller 
Woodpeckers and Nuthatches in the winter season, and 
they now feed by choice principally upon ants and small 
coleoptera. In Florida they are already mated in the month 
of January, and prepare their burrows in the following 
month. ‘The nest is frequently in a decayed trunk, 20 to 
30 feet from the ground. ‘The eggs 4 to 6 are, as usual, 
white. In the winter season, and in cold and wet weather, 
they are in the habit of roosting in their old nests or in the 
holes of decayed trees, and frequently retreat to such places 
when wounded and pursued. 

This species is 84 inches long, and 13 in alar stretch. The back 
barred with about twelve white, curving lines, and as many of black, 
Tail-feathers spotted with black, except the 4 middle ones, which are 
wholly black. The vermilion line on the side of the head seldom 


occupies more than the edge of a single feather. In the female this 
mark is wanting. Iris hazel. 


** Species with 3 toes. AprtTEeRNus. Swains. 


NORTHERN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 


(Picus (ApteRnus.) arcticus, North. Zool. ii. p. 813. pl. 57. P. 
tridactylus, Bonar. Am. Orn. ii, pl. 14. fig. 2. Aup. Orn. ii. p. 198. 
pl. 152.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Bill very broad and depressed; tarsus feathered 
above; sides of the head striped with black and white; white 
spots on the quills only. — Male glossy black, beneath white ; crown 
golden-yellow, in the female wholly black. — Young, black, lmed 
with white, with the crown also similar. 


692 ZY GODACTYLI. 


Turs species is an inhabitant of the northern regions 
from Maine to the Fur Countries, dwelling among deep 
forests in mountainous regions. It burrows its nest in the 
pine trees, and lays 4 or 5 white eggs, like the rest of the 
genus. Its voice and habits are indeed precisely similar to 
those of the Spotted Woodpeckers, to which it is closely 
allied. Its food consists of insects, their eggs, and larve, 
to which it sometimes adds, according to the season, seeds 
and berries. Audubon had the good fortune to meet with 
it in the pine forests of the Pokono Mountains in Pennsyl- 
vania. It is, however, sufficiently common in the dreary 
wilds around Hudson’s Bay and Severn River. It is re- 
markable, that a third species, so nearly allied to the 
present, as to have been confounded with it merely as a 
variety, is found to inhabit the woods of Guiana. In this, 
(the Picus undulatus of Vieillot,) the crown, however, is 
red instead of yellow: the tarsi are also naked, and the 
black of the back undulated with white. 


The length of this species is about 104 inches, and 16 in alar 
stretch. Iris bluish-black. Above glossy black, with green and pur- 
ple reflections. Throat, breast, and middle of the belly white ; sides 
of the breast, and flanks, thickly waved with black and white, as well 
as the femorals and tarsal feathers. Primaries marked on both webs 
with square white spots. Tail, 4 middle feathers plain black, the 
rest white, except 2, which are tipt with black; the exterior feather, 
however, banded with black and white. Legs lead-color. 


BANDED THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 


Picus hirsutus, Vir1tt. Avp. Orn. d. p. 184. pl. 417. fig. 3, 4. P. 
? P = 
(ApTERNUS.) tridactylus, Swatns North. Zool. ii. p. 311.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Varied with black and white ; forehead spotted ; 
crown pale yellow; bill considerably depressed. 


Accorpiné to Richardson, this bird exists as a perma- 


BANDED THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, 693 


nent resident in all the spruce forests between Lake Supe- 
rior and the Arctic Sea, and is the most common Wood- 
pecker north of Great Slave Lake. It resembles P. villosus 
in its habits, seeking its food, however, principally on 
decaying trees of the Pine tribe, in which it frequently 
burrows holes large enough to bury itself. 


Length 94 inches; tail 34; wing 44 inches; the bill above, 1 inch 
1 line; the tarsus 94 lines. Crown pale saffron-yellow, with white 
specks; the rest of the upper surface and sides of the head velvet- 
black, thickly spotted with white on the forehead, round the crown, 
and on the sides of the throat. A white line from the eye to the 
nape, and another from the nostrils under the eye. Back and wings 
blackish-brown ; inner scapulars and hind part of the back barred 
with white. Tips of most of the quills, and a series of spots on their 
margins, also white. Two middle pairs of tail feathers brownish- 
black ; two exterior pairs barred with black at the base; and the in- 
termediate pair largely tipped with white. Chin, throat, a line down 
the middle of the belly, and the under tail-coverts, white ; sides of 
the belly and inner wing-coverts barred with black. Bill bluish-grey 
above, whitish beneath. Legs lead colored.— Female smaller, and 
without the yellow on the crown, the top of the head being thickly 
spotted with white. 


ORDER. SIX Tae 


—<— 


SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. (Tenutrostres. Cuvier, 
Bonap.) 


In these birds the prt is long, or only moderately ex- 
tended, partly arched, and elongated awl-shaped ; it is also 
entire and acute, or sometimes wedge-shaped at the ex- 
tremity. The feet with 3 toes before, and 1 behind, the 
Outer united at base to the middle one, hind toe generally 
long, the nails extended and curved. 

All the birds of this order bear a relation to those of 
the 2d section of the preceding, or climbing Zygodactyli. 
Like them they generally cling to, and vertically ascend 
the trunks and branches of trees, or the fagades of rocks, 
as well as hold themselves firmly upon them. Nearly all 
of them are insectivorous, and their food and means of 
procuring it are almost similar to that of the Woodpeckers. 
Their tongues are pointed, or divided at the extremity like 
a pencil, and more or less capable of extension. They 
build generally in hollow trees, or the clefts of rocks, and 
some construct an artful nest. Their voice is quaint or 
unpleasant ; and though often incautious, their usual man- 
ners are shy and retiring. 


Family. —SITTIN&. NUTHATCHES. 


With the prtt moderate or rather long, straight, slender, subulate, 
somewhat compressed, acute, or cuneate, convex beneath. Hind toe 


WHITE-BREASTED AMERICAN NUTHATCH 695 


very long. Tail usually equal. Tongue abrupt and bristly at tip.— 
This group restricted to its natural limits are nearly allied to the 
Woodpeckers, of which they have the habits, dwelling on trees and 
probing for insects ; they have also nearly the same voice and hardy 
constitution ; they are more remotely allied to the Titmice and the 
Certhias. 


slatA. (Lin.) NUTHATCHES. 


In these the itt is straight, moderate-sized, conic-awl-shaped, 
rounded, and sharp-edged towards the point ; lower mandible usually 
recurved from the middle. The nosrrits basal, orbicular, open, 
half closed by a membrane, and partly hid in the advancing bristly 
feathers of the face. The ronaver short, wide at the base, witha 
torn notch at the indurated tip. Frrr robust; hind toe stout and 
long, witha strong, hooked, and sharp nail. Wings moderate ; spurious 
feathers short, the 2d, 3d, and 4th primaries longest. Tail rather short, 
of 12 feathers, even, or slightly rounded, with the shafts only of ordi- 
nary strength. 

The sexes are similar, the young scarcely differing from the adult ; 
and with moult annual. These are generally hardy birds, dwell- 
ing in woods, and climbing the trunks and branches of trees as well 
down as up, practising the reverted postures of the Titmouse and the 
Certhias, being more agile and ambulatory than the Woodpeckers. 
They gererally live on insects, but sometimes perforate nuts by re- 
peated blows or hatchings, as well as the kernels of hard fruits, with 
the bill. They build in the hollow of trees, rearing a numerous 
brood; and inhabit cold and temperate countries. 


WHITE-BREASTED AMERICAN NUTHATCH. 


(Sitta carolinensis, Briss. Witson, i. p. 40. pl. 2. fig. 3. Aup. Orn. 
Biog. ii. p. 299. pl. 152. Phil. Museum, No. 2036.) 


Spec. Cuaractr.—-Lead-color; head and neck above black ; beneath 
pure white; vent tinged with ferruginous; lateral tail-feathers 
black and white.— Young with the head plumbeous. 

Tuts species, so nearly allied to the European Nuthatch 
resides permanently throughout North America, from 


696 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


Hudson’s Bay and Oregon, to the table land of Mexico, 
appearing only more common and familiar at the approach 
of winter, in consequence of the failure of its food in its 
favorite sylvan retreats, which it now often forsakes for the 
open fields, orchards, or gardens, where, in pairs, or small 
and sometimes contending parties, they cautiously glean a 
transient means of subsistence, and wander from place to 
place as the supply diminishes. At the welcome return, 
however, of the month of April, with the revival and re- 
newal of its insect fare, the Nuthatch becomes more do- 
mestic; and retiring into the forest with its mate, it pre- 
pares for its progeny in some hollow tree, or even ina 
rail of the neighbouring fence. If the orifice to the nest, 
in the dead tree, be too large, the female of the European 
species contracts the entrance with plastic earth and 
mud, like a potter, and this barricade is speedily rebuilt if 
broken down. The eggs, about 5, are of a dull white, 
spotted with brown at the greater end. ‘The male is now 
assiduously attentive to his sitting mate, supplying her 
regularly with food; on which occasion he affectionately 
calls her from the mouth of her dark and voluntary pris- 
on, where sometimes, in mere sociability, he attempts in 
his rude way to soothe her with his complaisant chatter. 
He is too affectionate to ramble from this favorite spot, 
where he not only accompanies his consort, but, sentinel 
like, watches and informs her of every threatening dan- 
ger. When the pair are feeding on the trunk of the same 
tree, or near to each other in the same wood, the faithful 
male is heard perpetually calling upon his companion at 
short intervals, as he circumambulates the trunk. His 
approach is announced usually at a distance by his nasal 
kank kank, frequently repeated, as in spiral circles round 
the trunk of some tree, he probes, searches, and shells 
off the bark in quest of his lurking prey of spiders, ants, 


RED-BELLIED NUTHATCH. 697 


insects, and their larve in general. So tight and secure 
is his hold, that he is known to roost indifferently with 
his head up or down from the tree; and when wounded, 
while any spark of life remains, his convulsive and instinc- 
tive grasp is still firmly and obstinately maintained. Some- 
times with a sort of complaisant curiosity one of the birds, 
when there is a pair, will silently descend nearly to the 
foot of the tree, where the spectator happens to stand, 
stopping, head downwards, and stretching out his neck, 
as it were to reconnoitre your appearance and motives: 
and after an interval of silence, wheeling round, he again 
ascends to his usual station, trumpeting his notes as before. 
He seldom wholly quits the forest, but when baffled by the 
slippery sleet which denies him a foot-hold, he is some- 
times driven to the necessity of approaching the barn-yard 
and stables, or the precincts of the dwelling, where oc- 
casionally mixing among the common fowls, entering the 
barn, or examining its beams and rafters, he seems to leave 
no means untried to secure a scanty subsistence. 


Length 5% inches, alar extent 11. Bull black. Legs dusky flesh- 
color. Upper part of the head and neck black, glossed with blue, 
that color curving down on either side of the neck at its base. 


RED-BELLIED NUTHATCH. 


(Sitta canadensis, L. Witson, Am. Orn. 1. p. 40. pl. 2. fig. 4. Aun. 
Orn. Biog, ii. p. 24. pl. 105.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Lead-color ; head and neck above, and line through 
the eye, black ; beneath rust-color ; lateral tail-feathers black and 
white — Young plumbeous on the head. 


Tue habits of this smaller species are almost similar 
to the preceding; they have, however, a predilection for 
pine forests, feeding much on the oily seeds of these ever- 
greens. In these barren solitudes they are almost certain 

59 


698 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS, 


to be found in busy employment, associating in pairs, with 
the Chicadees and smaller Woodpeckers, the whole form- 
ing a hungry, active, and noisy group, skipping from tree 
to tree with petulant chatter, probing and rattling the dead 
or leafless branches, prying in every posture for their 
scanty food; and, like a horde of foraging Tartars, pro- 
ceed through the forest, and leisurely overrun the whole of 
the continent to the very confines of the tropics, retiring 
north inthe same manner with the advance of the spring. 

The notes of this species of Nuthatch, though similar, 
are sharper than those of the preceding, resembling day 
day dait, and sounding almost like a child’s trumpet. Its 
motions are also quicker. In winter, a few migrate to the 
Southern States, where they are seen in October, and 
return to the north in April, proceeding as far as Nova 
Scotia, where, as well as in Maine, many spend even the 
severest winters. About the middle of October, (1834), 
we likewise found them in the woods of the Oregon, near 
the Wahlamet. ‘The nest, according to Audubon, is made 
in a low dead stump, seldom more than 4 feet from the 
ground. The eggs, 4 in number, are small, of a bluish- 
white sprinkled with reddish dots. They usually raise but 
a single brood inthe season. They cling to the bark of 
the tree and roost commonly with the head downwards, in 
the manner of their whole tribe. 


Length 44 inches, alar extent 8. Legs and feet, dusky greenish- 
yellow. 


BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH. 


(Sitta pusilla, Lata. Witson, ii. p. 105, pl. 15. fig. 2. Aun. Orn. 
Biog. ii. p. 151. pl. 125. Phil. Museum, No. 2040.) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Lead-color; head and neck above light brown; 
beneath yellowish white ; lateral tail-feathers black, tipped with 
grey, and crossed with a broad subterminal band of white. 


CALIFORNIAN NUTHATCH. 699 


Tats small species is seldom seen to the north of the 
state of Virginia. In the Southern States it is rather com- 
mon, and is also met with in the island of Jamaica. Like 
the last, which it resembles in manners, it is very fond of 
pine trees, and utters a similar note, but more shrill and 
chirping. Its food, besides the seeds of the pine, is usually 
the insects which infest the forest trees. Its nest is made 
in hollow trees, a few feet from the-ground ; the eggs are 
4 to 6, white with reddish dots. They pair in February 
and March, in the Southern States. In winter, families of 
this species, of 8 or 10 individuals, may be seen busily 
hunting in company, and keeping up a perpetual and mo- 
notonous screeping. It is less suspicious than most other 
sylvan birds, sometimes descending down the trunk of a 
tree, watching the motions of the by-stander, and if the 
intrusion happens to be near the nest, or while engaged in 
digging it out, the little harmless mechanic utters a sort of 
complaining note, and very unwillingly relinquishes his 
employment, which is instantly renewed on the removal of 
the observer. 


Length 4} inches, alar extent 8. Legs dull blue. Iris hazel. 


CALIFORNIAN NUTHATCH. 


Sitta pygma@a, Vicors. Avp. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 163. pl. 415. fig. 3, 4. 
PYs g.9.Pp P g. 3, 4.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Lead color; head and neck greyish-brown ; be- 
neath brownish-white ; lateral tail feathers dusky, with a white 
band toward the base. 


Te specimen on which this species has been founded, 
was collected in Upper California by Captain Beechy. It 
is scarcely distinct from the preceding species, of which it 
may be, perhaps, a mere variety of sex or age. 


700 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


Length 3 10-12th inches; bill along the ridge about 4 an inch; 
wing from the flexure about 34 inches. Bill bluish-black. Feet and 
claws reddish-brown. Upper parts of the body dull leaden grey ; 
quills and tail feathers dusky, margined with light grey ; the 2 lateral 
tail feathers on each side with a white band toward the base ; (by 
which it principally differs from the preceding species.) 


CERTHIANA. (CREEPERS.) 


Bitt elongated, much curved or straight ; the body thick, and 
heavy ; tarsus moderate ; the 2 outer toes equal, and longer than the 
inner one, which is short. Tail long and wide ; each feather usually 
ending in a stiff point. — A very natural group, formerly composing 
but a single genus. They live principally on larve and insects, and 
usually use their tails as a means of support in climbing up trees. 


CERTHIA. (Lin.) CREEPERS. 


In these birds the B1Lt is long, or of middling Iength more or less 
arched, entire, 3-sided, compressed, slender, and acute. Nostrizs 
basal, naked, pierced in grooves, and half closed by a small mem- 
brane. TonGueE acute. Fret slender, inner toe free, and somewhat 
shorter than the outer; hind toe longer and more robust; the nails 
much curved, that of the hind toe largest. Wings rather short; 
spurious feather small; 3d and 4th primaries longest. Tail of 12 
feathers, elastic, rigid, and acuminate. 

The sexes and young nearly alike; with the moult annual. They 
live in pairs, or move in small families, and chiefly frequent woods, 
particularly those of pine, climbing both upwards and downwards on 
the trunks of trees, in performing which, like Woodpeckers, they are 
aided by the support of the rigid tail. They feed on insects only ; 
and nest in hollow trees, laying from 3to9 eggs. The species are 
few, but widely spread. 


BROWN CREEPER. 701 


BROWN CREEPER. 


(Certhia Americana, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 11. C. familiaris, L. Wit- 
Son, 1.p. 122. pl. 8. fig. 1. Aun. Orn. Biog. v. p. 158. pl. 415.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Dark grey, varied with white, brown, and dusky ; 
beneath white ; rump and tail rusty-brown. 


Tus industrious forager for insects, chiefly dwelling in 
the seclusion of the forest, is but seldom seen in the sum- 
mer; but on the approach of winter, with other hungry 
wanderers of similar habits, such as the small Woodpeckers 
and Nuthatches, he makes his appearance on the wooded 
skirts of the village, particularly among the pine trees, and 
occasionally becomes familiar enough to pay a passing visi® 
to the orchard. In this country, however, the species is 
neither common nor familiar, nor are they more abundant 
in the Northern than the Middle States, though their breed- 
ing range extends from Pennsylvania to Newfoundland. 

The bill of the Creeper not being of sufficient strength 
to probe the wood, it rests contented, with examining the 
crevices of the bark for insects and their eggs, proceeding 
leisurely upwards or downwards, in straight or spiral lines 
towards the top of the tree, dodging dexterously to the 
opposite side from the observer, and only resuming his oc- 
cupation when assured of solitude and safety. While thus 
employed it utters at short intervals a sharp, quick, rather 
grating note, by which its resort may be discovered, though 
it requires some time and a good eye to perceive it if on the 
upper branches of a tall tree. Though they live chiefly on 
insects, they also, according to Wilson, collect the seeds of 
the pine for food, and are particularly fond of the vermin 
which prey on those kinds of trees. In the thick forests 
which they inhabit, in the Northern and Western States, 
about the middle of April, they commence their nest in the 
hollow trunk or branch of a tree, which has been exposed 


i 


702 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


to decay by injury or accident. Here, in the accidental 
cavities or deserted holes of the Squirrel or Woodpecker, 
the Creeper deposits her eggs, to the number of 7 or more, 
of a cinereous white, marked with small dots of reddish- 
yellow. The nest, according to Audubon, is formed of 
grass and lichens, and warmly lined with feathers, (Ac- 
cording to Temminck, the eggs of the European bird are 
pure white, scattered with numerons pale and darker spots 
of ferruginous brown.) ‘The young creep about with great 
caution previous to taking to their wings. 

Length 53 inches, alar extent 7. Tail, as long as the body, of a pale 
drab, with the inner webs dusky, the extremity of each sharp, rigid, 


and attenuated to a point, in the manner of the Woodpeckers. Eyes 
hazel. Legs and feet dirty clay-color. 


MNIOTILTA. (Viritu.) CREEPING WARBLER. 


Bitz rather long, somewhat straight, slender, nearly as broad as 
high at the base, and much compressed toward the end; outline of 
the upper mandible slightly convex and declinate, the tip acute. Legs 
slender, feet large, toes long, compressed; hind toe stout, the 2d 
shorter than the 3d, which is adherent at the base ; claws much com- 
pressed and acute. Vibrissa obsolete ; wings long, with the 2d and 
3d or first 3 quills nearly equal and longst. Tail nearly even.—In- 
termediate between the Certhiane and Sylvicoline. 


CREEPING WARBLER. 


(Mniotilta varia, Viriti. Sylvia varia, LAtH. Aupvson, pl. 90. Orn. 
Biog. i. p. 452. Certhia maculata, Black and White Creeper, Wi11- 
SON, iii. p. 23. pl. 19. fig. 3. Phil. Museum, No. 7092.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Varied with black and white; the crown witha 
central white stripe ; belly white ; bill curved, slender, the lower 


CREEPING WARBLER. 703 


mandible paler; feet and claws yellow; 2d and 3d quill equal, 

longest. — Male, with the throat black. — Female and young, with 

the throat spotted. 

Tus remarkable bird, allied to the Creepers, is another 
rather common summer resident in most parts of the United 
States, and probably migrates pretty far to the north. It 
arrives in Louisiana by the middle of February, visits Penn- 
sylvania about the second week in April, and a week later 
appears in the woods of New England, protracting its stay 
in those countries till the beginning of October, and linger- 
ing on the southern limits of the Union a month later, so 
that it does not appear to be much affected by the com- 
mencement of frost, and probably, at this season, occasion- 
ally feeds on berries. As they are observed round Vera 
Cruz towards the commencement of winter, and are de- 
scribed as inhabiting the West India islands, it is probable 
they pass the extremity of the winter beyond the southern 
boundary of the Union. 

Like the Creepers and Nuthatches, this species is seldom 
seen to perch upon the branches of trees, but creeps spirally 
around the trunk and larger boughs up and down, in quest 
of insects which alight upon or hide within the crevices of 
the bark. In this employment they display all the dexterity 
of the more regular climbers. For this purpose the hind 
toe is rather stout, and extends backward so as to balance 
with the anterior part of the foot, and allow a motion like 
that of the Creepers, from which genus they are, at the 
same time, wholly distinct. 

At the period of breeding the male scrapes out a little 
monotonous ditty in recognition of his mate, resembling 
somewhat the syllables te tshe tshe tshe tsh’ tsheté, pro- 
ceeding from high to low, in a tolerably strong and shrill, 
but somewhat filing tone. As the season of incubation 
advances, this note, however, becomes more mellow and 
warbling, and, though feeble, is very pleasing, bearing at 


704 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


this time some resemblance to that of the Redstart (Seto- 
phaga ruticilla.) This song is like the ascending call of 
"twee ’twee twee ’twee ’tweet. At the romantic estate of 
the Cold Spring place in Roxbury, the proprietor, Mr. 
Newman, pointed out to me the nest of this bird, which, 
on the 27th of June, contained 4 young about a week old. 
Other birds of this species, I had seen fledged this year 
about the 17th of the same month, and as Wilson remarks 
the flight of the young in July, we may suppose that they 
raise 2 broods in the season. ‘lhe nest was niched in the 
shelving of a rock, on the surface of the ground, and was 
externally composed of coarse strips of the inner bark of 
the hemlock * trees, which overshadowed the situation. 
With these were mixed soft, dissected, old leaves, and a 
few stalks of dead grass; the lining was made of a thin 
layer of black hair. The eggs were 5, whitish, marked at 
the larger end with pale brownish red spots. According 
to Audubon, they nest in Louisiana in some small hole in 
a tree, and employ dry moss, and a lining of downy sub- 
stances. The pair fed the young before us with affection- 
ate attenticn, and did not seem more uneasy at our pres- 
ence than the common and familiar Summer Yellow-bird. 
They crept about the trunks of the neighboring trees, 
often head downwards like the Sittas, and carried large, 
smooth caterpillars to their young. This is, in fact, at all 
times, a familiar, active, and unsuspicious little visitor of 
the shady gardens and orchards, as well as woods and 
solitudes. 


The length of the Creeping Warbler is from 5 to 54 inches; the 
alar extent 74. The crown white, bordered on each side by a band 
of black, which is again bounded by a line of white passing over 
each eye; ear-feathers black, as well as the chin and throat ; wings 


* Abies canadensis. 


NORTHERN CREEPING-WARBLER. 705 
the same, with 2 white bars; breast, back, sides, and rump spotted 
with black and white. Tail and primaries edged with light grey, the 
coverts black, bordered with white. Belly white. Legs dusky yel- 
low. Feet beneath and claws almost lemon yellow. Bill black 
above, paler below, rather long and slender, curved, with the upper 
mandible keeled and compressed at the sides. Tongue long, and 
fine pointed. — Female with the crown wholly black, and without the 
black auricular feathers ; the primaries edged with olive. Legs pale 
yellow. 


NORTHERN CREEPING-WARBLER. 
(Mniotilta borealis, Nosts.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Varied with black and white; the crown witha 
central white stripe, belly white; bill nearly straight, black ; 3 first 
quills equal and longest. 


Specimens of both sexes of this nearly allied, but ap- 
parently distinct species of Creeping Warbler, were shot on 
the 8th of May, in the woods of Spot Pond, near Medford, 
by my friend Mr. William Gambel, accompanying several 
newly arrived Sylvicolas. 'Their note appeared to be diffe- 
rent from the slender warble of the preceding species; 
and, in place of perambulating the trunk and branches of 
trees, they were seen fluttering often among the branches of 
the budding oaks and maples, though sometimes also hop- 
ping through the neighboring pines and fir-trees. The 
stomach contained fragments of small coleopterous insects 
and larve. ‘They probably proceed farther north to breed. 


Length about 5 inches. The plumage almost exactly as in the 
preceding species; but with the first 3 quills equal, and the white 
space below on the belly much more restricted. The bill is also 
shorter, nearly straight, with both mandibles black, and the lower 
nearly as thick as the upper; the bill is also less wide at the base. 
The legs, feet and claws are likewise dusky olive. This species is, 
in fact, perfectly intermediate between the present genus and Sylvi- 
cola. 


706 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


TROCHILID.. 


Tue bill long or moderate, slender, entire, acute, or tubular at the 
point ; the tongue long, slender, and extensile. Feet short, or mod- 
erate, and slender. Tail of 10 or 12 feathers. 

The moult semi-annual; with the plumage usually brilliant. They 
feed principally on the honeyed sweets of flowers, which they extract 
with their long and extensible tongues ; some also add small insects 
to their fare. The nest is often constructed with much art, and they 
raise one or two broods in the season. The voice is scarcely audible. 


TROCHILUS. (Lirx.) HUMMING-BIRDS. 


THE BILL long, straight or curved, very slender, the base depressed, 
and as wide as the forehead, the point sharp; the edges of the upper 
mandible covering the lower so as to render the bill tubular; moutH 
very small. Nosrrizs basal, linear, covered by a turgid membrane. 
TonavurE very long and extensible, entire at base, divided from the 
middle upwards. Feet very short; tarsus short and slender, more or 
less feathered ; fore toes almost wholly divided; nails short, much 
curved and retractile, compressed and acute, hind one often shorter 
than the others. Wings long and acute, Ist primary longest and 
curved, the others successively shortening. Taz mostly of 10 
feathers. 

These birds differ considerably in appearance according to age 
and sex; the colors are brilliant and metallic, and the high tinted 
feathers of a rigid texture. They associate only in pairs; the young 
often brought together accidentally in small companies, but live sep- 
arate from the old. The flight is extremely rapid; with the wings 
constantly moving with a humming sound, so as to produce a balancing 
suspension in the air while feeding on the nectar of flowers; each of 
the primaries even, provided with a separate motion. They scarcely 
walk, resting and roosting upon the larger branches of trees. The 
nest attached to a branch ora leaf. The eggs are constantly 2, and 
white. — They are peculiar to America, and almost exclusively 
tropical. 


Subgenus. — Ornismya. Lesson. 


Wirn the bill straight, or nearly so, slightly enlarged towards the 
extremity. 


NORTHERN HUMMING-BIRD. 

( Trochilus colubris, L. W11son, ii. p. 26. pl. 10. fig. 3. and 4. Aupvu- 
BON, pl. 47. Orn. Biog. i. p, 248. Bonar. Phil. Museum, No. 
2520.) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Golden-green ; tail forked, dusky ; 3 outer tail- 
feathers rusty-white at tip. — Male with a changeable ruby-colored 
throat. — In the female and young, the throat is nearly white, 
strongly inclining to yellow in the young male. 

Turis wonderfully diminutive and brilliant bird is the 
only one of an American genus, of more than 100 species, 
which ventures beyond the limit of tropical climates. Its 
approaches towards the north are regulated by the advances 
of the season. [ed on the honeyed sweets of flowers, it is 
an exclusive attendant on the varied bounties of Flora. 
By the 10th to the 20th of March, it is already seen in the 
mild forests of Louisiana, and the warmer maritime 
districts of Georgia, where the embowering and fragrant 


708 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


Gelsemium (Carolina Jessamine), the twin-leaved Bigno- 
nia,* and the white-robed Mylocarium,*+ with a host of 
daily expanding flowers, invite our little sylvan guest to 
the retreats he had reluctantly forsaken. Desultory in his 
movements, roving only through the region of blooming 
sweets, his visits to the Northern States are delayed to the 
month of May. Still later, as if determined that no flower 
shall ‘“‘blush unseen, or waste its sweetness on the desert 
air,” our little sylph, on wings as rapid as the wind, at 
once launches without hesitation into the flowery wilder- 
ness which borders on the arctic circle. According to 
Richardson, this species frequents the fur countries up to 
the 57th parallel, and Mr. Drummond found a nest of the 
Humming-bird near the sources of Elk river in the remote 
interior of the north, and we met with it on Lewis’s River 
of the Shoshonee, in the latter part of July. 

The first cares of the little busy pair are now bestowed 
on their expected progeny. ‘This instinct alone propelled 
them from their hybernal retreat within the tropics ; stran- 
gers amidst their numerous and brilliant tribe, they only 
seek a transient asylum in the milder regions of their race. 
With the earliest dawn of the northern spring, in pairs, as 
it were with the celerity of thought, they dart, at intervals, 
through the dividing space, till they again arrive in the 
genial and more happy regions of their birth. The enrap- 
tured male is now assiduous in attention to his mate; for- 
getful of selfish wants, he feeds his companion with nec- 
tared sweets; and jealous of danger and interruption to 
the sole companion of his delights, he often almost seeks a 
quarrel with the giant birds which surround him; he 
attacks even the King-Bird, and drives the gliding Martin 
to the retreat of his box. The puny nest is now prepared 


* Bignonia capreolata. { Called the Buck-wheat tree. 


NORTHERN HUMMING-BIRD. 709 
in the long accustomed orchard or neighboring forest. It 
is concealed by an artful imitation of the mossy branch to 
which it is firmly attached and incorporated. Bluish-grey 
lichens, agglutinated by saliva, and matched with surround- 
ing objects, instinctively form the deceiving external coat ; 
portions of the cunning architecture, for further security, 
are even tied down to the supporting station. Within are 
laid copious quantities of the pappus or other down of 
plants ; the inner layer of this exauisite bed is finished with 
the short wool of the budding Platanus, the mullein, or 
the soft clothing of unfolding fern-stalks. The eggs, as 
in the whole genus, are white, and only 2, so nearly oblong 
as to present no difference of ends. Incubation, so tedious 
to the volatile pair, is completed in the short space of 10 
days, and in the warmer States, a second brood is raised. 
On approaching the nest, they dart around the intruder, 
within a few inches of his face; and the female, if the 
young are out, often resumes her seat, though no more 
than three or four feet from the observer. In a single week 
the young are on the wing, and in this situation still con- 
tinue to be fed with their nursing sweets by the assiduous 
parents. Creatures of such delicacy and uncommon cir- 
cumstances, the wondrous sports of nature, every thing 
appears provided for the security of their existence. The 
brood are introduced to life in the warmest season of the 
year ; variation of temperature beyond a certain medium, 
would prove destructive to these exquisite forms. The 
ardent heats of America have alone afforded them support; 
no region, so cool as the United States produces a set of 
feathered beings so delicate and tender; and, conse- 
quently, any sudden extremes, by producing chill and fam- 
ine, are fatal to our Humming-Birds. In the remarkably 
wet summer of 1831, very few of the young were raised 
in New England. In other seasons they comparatively 

60 


710 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


swarm, and the numerous and almost gregarious young 
are then seen, till the close of September, eagerly engaged 
in sipping the nectar from various showy and tubular 
flowers, particularly those of the trumpet Bignonia, and 
wild balsam, with many other conspicuous productions of 
the fields and gardens. Sometimes, they may also be seen 
collecting diminutive insects, or juices from the tender 
shoots of the pine tree. While thus engaged in strife and 
employment, the scene is peculiarly amusing. Approach- 
ing a flower, and vibrating on the wing before it, with the 
rapidity of lightning, the long, cleft, and tubular tongue 
is exserted to pump out the sweets, while the buzzing or 
humming of the wings reminds us of the approach of some 
larger Sphinx or droning bee. No other sound or song is 
uttered, except occasionally a slender chirp while flitting 
from a flower, until some rival bird too nearly approaches 
the same plant; a quick, faint, and petulant squeak is then 
uttered, as the little glowing antagonists glide up in swift 
and angry gyrations into the air. The action, at the same 
time is so sudden, and the flight so rapid, that the whole 
are only traced for an instant, like a grey line in the air, 
Sometimes without any apparent provocation, the little 
pugnacious vixen will, for mere amusement, pursue larger 
birds, such as the Yellow-Bird and Sparrows, To man 
they show but little either of fear or aversion, quietly feed- 
ing on their favorite flowers often, when so nearly ap- 
proached as to be caught. They likewise frequently enter 
the green-houses and windows of dwellings where flowers 
are kept in sight. After feeding, for a time, the individual 
settles on some small and often naked bough or slender 
twig, and dresses its feathers with great composure, partic- 
ularly preening and clearing the plumes of the wing. 

The old and young are soon reconciled to confinement. 
In an hour after the loss of liberty, the little cheerful cap- 


ANNA HUMMING-BIRD. 71l 


tive will often come and suck diluted honey, or sugar and 
water, from the flowers held out to it; and in a few hours 
more it becomes tame enough to sip its favorite beverage 
from a saucer, in the interval flying backwards and _for- 
wards in the room for mere exercise, and then resting on 
some neighboring elevated object. In dark, or rainy 
weather, they seem to pass the time chiefly dozing on the 
perch. They are also soon so familiar as to come to the 
hand that feeds them. In cold nights, or at the approach 
of frost, the pulsation of this little dweller in the sunbeam, 
becomes nearly as low as in the torpid state of the dor- 
mouse; but on applying warmth, the almost stagnant 
circulation revives, and slowly increases to the usual 
state. 


The Humming-Bird is only 33 inches in length, and 44 in alar ex- 
tent. The bill, legs, feet, and eyes black. The feathers of the breast 
in the male, according to the light in which they are viewed, vary 
from a deep brownish-black, to a fiery crimson or glowing orange. — 
In the young birds the bill is broader and shorter, and traces of the 
tigid metallic glossed feathers begin to appear on the throat, towards 
the close of autumn, At first the chin fora little space is palish- 
yellow. 


§ Lampornis. (Genus of, Swains.) 


Wirn the tail short, rectilinear, arrounded, or notched; the head 
and neck without either crest or elongated plumes. 


ANNA HUMMING-BIRD. 
(Trochilus (OnnismyA.) 4nna, Lesson, Aup. Or. Biog. 5 p. 238. pl. 
425.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Above light golden-green ; below brownish- 
white ; head, cheeks and throat red and golden with a tinge of blue ; 
vent greenish. 


712 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


Lesson describes this species as coming from Califor- 
nia; and it therefore probably occurs within the limits 
of Oregon territory. 


Length 3 and ten-twelfths of an inch; wing from the flexure a lit- 
tle over 2. Quills and tail-feathers dusky brown. Bill and feet black. 
tail emarginate and rounded. 


YELLOW-CROWNED HUMMING-BIRD. 
(Trochilus (OrnnismyA.) iclerocephalus, Noxzis.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Above pale golden-green, below whitish ; throat 
ruby red changeable and metallic ; the crown with a patch of lemon 
yellow, tail not emarginate, tipped with white, except the middle 
feathers. 


Tus species appears to be rather common in upper Cal- 
ifornia, particularly round Santa Barbara, where I obtained 
a specimen of the female and the nest (mentioned by my 
friend Mr. Audubon as the mate of the Anna Humming- 
Bird.) The nest is attached to a small burnt twig of the 
Photinia arbutifolia; it is small even for the size of the 
bird, being 13 inches in depth and an inch and a quarter 
in breadth externally. It is somewhat conic, made of wil- 
low-down or of that of some Epilobium intermixed with 
scales of catkins and a few feathers, which latter also form 
the lining ; it has no pretensions to the studied neatness of 
the domicil of our common species, and was indeed so 
rough outside, that for several days I waited as I thought 
to see it finished previous to any rude examination, but at 
length I saw the female sitting, and then found that it con- 
tained, as usual, 2 white, nearly elliptical eggs, scarcely 
distinguishable in any way from those of our eastern 
species. The manners of this bird are also wholly similar, 


MANGO HUMMING-BIRD. 713 


They must have arrived in this part of California about 
the commencement of April. 


Length 33 inches; wing from the flexure 2.— Female with a few 
metallic feathers on the throat ; head and cheeks greenish-grey, Mid- 
dle tail-feathers green, the rest greenish-grey at base, black toward 
the end, and tipt with white ; below greyish, tinged with green on 
the sides, 


MANGO HUMMING-BIRD. 


(Trochilus Mango, Lixy. Syst. Nat. i. p. 191. Lara. Avp. pl, 484, 
Orn. Biog. ii. p. 480.) 


Spec, Cuaract. — Golden-green; middle tail-feathers black, glossed 
with green and blue, the rest crimson purple tipped with steel- 
blue, fore neck, and breast velvet black, the latter margined with 
emerald green; lower tail-coverts purple. — Female, throat and 
centre of the breast white, with a central band of black, an em- 
erald green margin along the sides of the neck and body, lower 
tail coverts green. 


Tuts species, new to the Fauna of the United States, 
was obtained by Dr. Strobel at Key West, in East Florida, 
who succeeded in capturing it from a bush where he found 
it seated, apparently wearied after its long flight across 
the Gulf of Mexico, probably from some of the West In- 
dia Islands, or the coast of South America. Whether 
this species is numerous in Florida, has not been ascer- 
tained. 


Length 43 inches. Alar extent 8; billl inch. Bill black. Feet 
dusky. Head, hind neck and back splendent with bronze, golden 
and green reflections ; wings dusky. 


60* 


714 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


§ II. —Sexaspnorus. (Genus of, Swains.) Genus. — Car- 
LIPHLOX. (Boze. and Bonap.) 


The male furnished on the sides of the neck with elongated erectile 
metallic feathers. 


NOOTKA HUMMING-BIRD. 


(Trochilus rufus, GME. Syst.1. p. 497. JT. (SevaspHorus) rufus, 
Swauys. North. Zool. ii. p. 324. 7. collaris, Latru. Ind. Orn. i. p: 
318. Ruff-necked Humming-Bird. Latu. Syn. ii. p. 785. pl. 35. 
General Hist. iv. p. 350. Penn. Arct. ; ool. 11. p.177. Le Sasin, 
Vieixu. Ois. dor. pl. 61. and 62. Humming-Bird, Coox’s Third 
Voyage, il. p. 297. Avp. Orn. 4. p. 555. pl. 379.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Cinnamon-rufous ; tail cuneate, the lateral feathers 
of the throat elongated. — Male, with a metalloidal crimson and 
cupreous throat. The female golden-green, with the throat destitute 
of the glowing spot. 


Tue discovery of this splendid species, in the cold and 
dreary regions of Nootka Sound, is due to the celebrated 
navigator Captain Cook. Its range is even more extensive 
on the western, and through the central parts of America, 
than the common species. Kotzebue found it in summer 
on the Pacific coast, as high as the 61st parallel of north- 
ern latitude, and Mr. Swainson has seen specimens from 
the table land of Mexico, near Real del Monte; so that 
our little western wanderer, no less adventurous than the 
Ruby-throat, traverses the whole continent, from the equa- 
tor, probably to the utmost verge of flowering vegetation, 
on the borders of the Arctic circle. 

We began to meet with this species near the Blue Moun- 
tains of the Columbia, in the autumn, as we proceeded to 
the West. These were all young birds, and were not very 
easily distinguished from those of the common species of 


NOOTKA HUMMING-BIRD. 715 


the same age. On the 16th of April, in the forests at the 
outlet of the Wahlamet, we first saw the males in num- 
bers, darting, burring, and squeaking in the usual manner 
of their tribe; but when engaged in collecting its accus- 
tomed sweets in all the energy of life, it seemed like a 
breathing gem, or magic carbuncle of glowing fire, stretch- 
ing out its gorgeous ruff, as if to emulate the sun itself in 
splendor. ‘Towards the close of May, the females were 
sitting, at which time the males were uncommonly quar- 
relsome and vigilant, darting out at meas I approached 
the tree probably near the nest, looking like a vivid coal 
of fire, passing within a very little of my face, returning 
several times to the attack, sinking and darting with the 
utmost velocity, at the same time uttering a curious rever- 
berating sharp bleat, somewhat similar to the quivering 
twang of a dead twig, yet also so much like the real bleat 
of some small quadruped, that for some time I searched 
the ground, in place of the air, for the actor in the scene. 
At other times, the males were seen darting up high in 
the air, and whirling about each other in great anger, and 
with much velocity. After these manceuvres the aggressor 
returned to the same dead twig, where for days he regu- 
larly took his station with all the courage and angry vigi- 
lance of a King-bird. The angry hissing or bleating note 
of this species seems something like ’¢ ’¢ ’¢ ’tsh ’vee tremu- 
lously uttered as it whirls and sweeps through the air, like 
a musket ball, accompanied also by something resembling 
the whirr of the Night-Hawk. On the 29th of May, I 
found a nest of this species in a forked branch of the 
Nootka Bramble. The female was sitting on 2 eggs, of 
the same shape and color as those of the common species. 
The nest also was similar, but somewhat deeper, made of 
the same downy substances and coated with lichens. At 
my approach, the female came hovering round the nest 


716 SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 


and soon after, when all was still, she contentedly resumed 
her place. Mr. ‘Townsend remarks, that on a clear day 
the male may be seen to rise to a great height in the air, 
and descend instantly near the earth, then mount again to 
the same altitude as before, performing almost semicircular 
evolutions and during its descent it utters its strange 
bleat. 


According to Mr. Swainson, the total length of a specimen in his 
possession is 2 inches 10 lines; the wing 1 inch7 lines; tail from the 
vent 1 inch; the bill above 7 lines and one fifth, measured from the 
rictus 8 inches 2 fifths. The general tint of the upper plumage, rufous 
or cinnamon, The crown and wing-coverts only, have, however a 
strong coppery-greenish gloss. The quills, and middle of the tail 
feathers with their tips, pale dusky brown, slightly glossed with violet. 
the chin and throat covered with scale-like feathers, of a metallic fire- 
like color glossed with red; the tints vary with the direction of the 
light, and in all are exquisitely splendid. The middle of the breast 
and vent nearly pure white ; the sides and under tail-coverts the same 
color with the back. Legs and feet dark brown. — The female chiefly 
differs in being golden-green, where the male is cinnamon ; and the 
throat is merely spotted with the glowing ruby color of the male. Is 
not this supposed female a young male? as in the common Ruby- 
Throat, the female has no particle of metallic splendor on the throat, 
but in the young males spots of this kind appear on the throat in the 
latest moult. 

Bill very straight, and gibbous both above and beneath towards the 
tip. Primaries narrow and pointed, the Ist shorter than the 2d. The 
tail more cuneated than rounded, the two middle pairs of feathers 
being longest, all are narrowed and obtusely pointed, the two outer 
pairs particularly narrow. The feathers on the sides of the throat are 
gradually elongated as they recede from the ears, and appear capable 
of being raised into two tufts. 


ORDER SEVENTH. 


ALCEDINA. KING-FISHERS. 


Tue bill usually long, sharp-pointed, almost quadrangu- 
lar, and slightly curved or straight. Feet very short; the 
tarsus reticulated; the middle toe united with the outer, 
commonly to the second joint, and with the inner toe to 
the first articulation. Female and young usually almost 
similar to the adult; the moult annual. 

These birds reside near waters; fly swiftly; perch on 
trees or rocks, but seldom descend to the ground, the feet 
being too short either for walking or leaping. ‘They sub- 
sist on insects, which they take while on the wing; or on 
fishes, seizing them as they approach the surface of the 
water. ‘They breed in holes burrowed in the friable banks 
of streams; and the eggs are numerous. ‘The voice is 
harsh and monotonous; and they are at all times shy, and 


are tamed with difficulty. 


ALCEDO. (Lix.) KING-FISHERS. 


In these the pitt is long, robust, straight and quadrangular, com- 
pressed and acute, rarely somewhat curved at the point. Nostrits 
basal, lateral, oblique, almost wholly closed by a naked membrane. 
TonaueE very short and fleshy. eet short and robust, tarsus shorter 
than the middle toe, which is nearly equal to the outer; inner toe 
rarely wanting, hind toe wide at the base; nail of the hind toe 
smallest. Wings rather short, Ist and 2d primaries a little shorter 
than the third, which is longest, 


718 HALCYONS. 


These are shy, solitary, and abstemious birds, feeding on insects, 
and diminutive aquatic animals, but principally on small fish, for which 
they assiduously watch while perched on some projecting stake or 
bough impending over the water; these they dexterously catch and 
swallow whole, at length casting up the scales, bones, and indigestible 
parts in the form of pellets. They fly for short distances with con- 
siderable celerity, skimming directly over the surface of the land or 
water. — Species are spread over the whole globe, but they abound 
most in warm climates. In the United States, as in Europe, there is 
but a solitary peculiar race in each country. 


BELTED KING-FISHER. 


(Alcedo Alcyon, L. Witson, iii. p. 59. pl. 23. fig. 1. Aup. Orn. Biog. i. 
p- 394. pl. 77. Ceryle Alcyon, Boiz. Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 10. 
Phil. Museum, No. 2145.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Crested; bluish slate-color; breast with a bluish 
band ; a spot on either side of the eyes, with a large collar round 
the neck, as well as the vent, white. — Female, with sides, and an 
additional belt on the breast, ferruginous. 


BELTED KING-FISHER. 719 


Turs wild and grotesque looking feathered angler is a 
well known inhabitant of the borders of fresh waters from 
the remote fur countries in the 67th parallel to the tropics ; 
westward he is also seen along the streams of Oregon and 
the rivulets of the Rocky Mountains, thus occupying ap- 
parently the whole northern continent of America in its 
widest dimensions. His delight is to dwell amidst the 
most sequestered scenes of uncultivated nature, by the 
borders of running rivulets, the roar of the water-fall, or 
amidst the mountain streamlets which abound with the 
small fish and insects constituting his accustomed fare. 
Mill-dams, and the shelving and friable banks of water- 
courses, suited for the sylvan retreat of his mate and brood, 
have also peculiar and necessary attractions for our retiring 
King-Fisher. By the broken, bushy, or rocky banks of 
his solitary and aquatic retreat, he may often be seen 
perched on some dead and projecting branch, scrutinizing 
the waters for his expected prey; if unsuccessful, he 
quickly courses the meanders of the streams or borders of 
ponds, just above their surface, and occasionally hovers 
for an instant, with rapidly moving wings, over the spot 
where he perceives his gliding quarry ; in the next instant, 
descending with a quick spiral sweep, he seizes a fish from 
the timid fry, with which he rises to his post, and swallows 
it in an instant. When startled from the perch, on which 
he spends many vacant hours digesting his prey, he utters 
commonly a loud, harsh, and grating cry, very similar to 
the interrupted creakings of a watchman’s rattle, and 
almost, as it were, the vocal counterpart to the watery 
tumult amidst which he usually resides. 

The nest, a work of much labor, is now burrowed in 
some dry and sandy, or more tenacious bank of earth, sit- 
uated beyond the reach of inundation. At this task both 
the parties join with bill and claws, until they have hori- 


720 HALCYONS. 


zontally perforated the bank to the depth of 5 or 6 feet. 
With necessary precaution, the entrance is only left suffi- 
cient for the access of a single bird. ‘The extremity, how- 
ever, is rounded like an oven, so as to allow the individuals 
and their brood a sufficiency of room. ‘This important 
labor is indeed prospective, as the same hole is employed 
for a nest and roost for many succeeding years. Here, on 
a few twigs, grass, and feathers, the eggs, about 6, and 
white, are deposited. Incubation, in which both parents 
engage, continues for 16 days; and they exhibit great 
solicitude for the safety of their brood. The mother, sim- 
ulating lameness, sometimes drops on the water, fluttering 
as if wounded and unable to rise from the stream. The 
male also perched on the nearest bough, or edge of the 
projecting bank, jerks his tail, elevates his crest, and pass- 
ing to and fro before the intruder, raises his angry and 
vehement rattle of complaint.* ‘They are very tenacious 
of their cell, and seldom forsake it, however molested. 
But at the commencement of winter, the frost obliges our 
humble Fisher to seek more open streams, and even the 
vicinity of the sea; but he is seen to return to Pennsylva- 
nia by the commencement of April. 


The length of this species is about 12 inches; alar extent 20. 
Bill brownish-black, light greenish-blue atthe base. Iris hazel. Feet 
greyish-blue ; the claws black. Quills brownish-black, barred with 
white at the base ; tail-feathers the same, but more barred with white. 
— The blue of the female duller. 


* AupuBoN, Orn. Biog. i. p. 393. 


ORDER EIGHTH. 


——— 


HIRUNDINA. SWALLOW TRIBE. 


Wiru the bill very short, much depressed, and wide 
at the base, the upper mandible curved at the point. Feet 
short and slender, 3 toes before, wholly divided, or united 
at the base by a short membrane, the hind toe often 
reversible; the nails hooked. ‘Tail more or less forked or 
even, the shafts sometimes ending in spiny points (as in 
Chetura.) Wings very long and acute. 

The sexes and young nearly similar; with the moult 
annual. ‘hese feed exclusively on insects, which they 
usually swallow flying; they consequently migrate to tropi- 
cal countries in winter. The flight is very rapid and Jong 
continued. ‘The vision very perfect; and, according to 
their habits, diurnal or nocturnal. The voice is rather 
feeble and twittering. 


HIRUNDO. (Linn.) SWALLOWS. 


In these birds the Birt is short, triangular, depressed, wide at 
its base, and cleft nearly to the eyes; the upper mandible notched 
and a little hooked at the point. Nosrrits basal, oblong, behind 
partly closed by a membrane, and covered by the advancing feathers 
of the frontlet. Tongue short, bifid. Feet short, and slender; middle 
toe longer than the subequal lateral ones, united with the outer to 
the first articulation, middle toe-nail larger, First primary longest. 
Tail of 12 feathers, and generally more or less forked. 


OL 


py 2 SWALLOW TRIBE. 


These birds are remarkable for their sociability, living generally in 
families, constructing their nests together, and often rendering mu- 
tual assistance in its formation; they also assemble and migrate in 
large flocks. Some build in hollow trees, barns, out-buildings, chim- 
neys, and even on the ground, or the larger branches of trees ; the ex- 
ternal part of the nest is often fortified with hardening materials, the 
interior lined with soft substances. Constantly paired, they rear 
several broods in the season, and unite in the labor of rearing the 
young. They frequent watery places in pursuit of winged insects, 
which they take with agility, swimming as it were in the air; they 
likewise skim over the surface of waters, and drink and bathe even 
without alighting, the air being almost their peculiar element. In 
fair weather they delight to ascend into the elevated regions of the 
atmosphere ; but previous to rain, which they thus prognosticate, 
they lower their flight, and at length sail near the surface of the earth. 
They inhabit every region, and moult once a year, in the depth of 
our winter, and while in their tropical asylum. 


PURPLE MARTIN, 


(Hirundo purpurea, L. Witson, v. p. 58. pl. 39. fig. l.and 2. Avp. 
pl. 22. Orn. Biog.i. p. 115. Phil. Museum, No. 2645, 2646.) 


Sprc. Cuaract.— Dark bluish-purple, and glossy ; wings and forked 
tail brownish-black.— Female and young bluish-brown; belly 
whitish. 

Accorpine to the progress of the season in the very 
different climates of the United States, is measured the 
arrival of this welcome messenger of spring. Around the 
city of New Orleans, for example, the Purple Martin is 
seen from the Ist to the 9th of February. At the Falls 
of the Ohio, they are not seen before the middle of March, 
and do not arrive in the vicinity of Philadelphia until the 
first week in April; on the 25th of that month or later, 
they visit the vicinity of Boston, and penetrate even to the 
cold regions of Hudson’s Bay, where they arrive in May, 
and retire in August ; about the 20th of the same month 
they also leave the State of Pennsylvania. Their migra- 


PURPLE MARTIN. 723 


tions are remarkably extensive, as they were seen by Mr. 
Swainson in great numbers around Pernambuco, Mr. 
Townsend met with it on the Rocky Mountains, and Audu- 
bon observed it breeding in Texas. In Oregon we found 
them nesting in the knot-holes of the oaks, and they did not 
appear to court the society of man, as we seldom saw them 
near the fort. In their haste to return to their natal climes, 
they sometimes expose themselves to fatal accidents from 
changeable and unfavorable weather. Inthe maritime parts 
of Massachusetts, and probably throughout the State, a few 
years ago, after a rainy midsummer, many were found dead 
in their boxes, and they have since been far less numerous 
than formerly. 

This beautiful species, like many others of the family, 
seeks out the dwellings of man, associating himself equally 
with the master and the slave, the colonist and the abo- 
—riginal. To him it is indifferent, whether his mansion be 
carved and painted, or humbled into the hospitable shell of 
the calabash or gourd. Secure of an asylum for his mate 
and young, while under the protection of man, he twitters 
forth his gratitude, and is every where welcomed to a home. 
So eager is he to claim this kind of protection, that some- 
times he ventures hostilities with the Blue-Birds and domes- 
tic Pigeons, whom he often forces to abandon their heredi- 
tary claims. Satisfied with their reception and success, 
like so many contented and faithful domestics, they return 
year after year to the same station. ‘The services of the 
Martin in driving away Hawks and Crows from the prem- 
ises he claims, are also important inducements for favor ; 
he has even the courage to attack the redoubtable King- 
Bird, when his visits are too familiar near the nest. 

At the approaching dawn, the merry Martin begins his 
lively twitter, which, continuing for half a minute, subsides 
until the twilight is fairly broken. To this prelude suc- 


724 SWALLOW TRIBE. 


ceeds an animated and incessant musical chattering, suffi- 
cient, near the dwelling, to awaken the soundest sleeper. 
Anacreon, in his 12th ode, playfully complains of this well- 
known vigilance ; 


Say, chattering bird, that dar’st invade 


My slumbers with thy serenade ; 
* * % * * * * 


For with thy execrable scream, 
Thou wak’st me from a golden dream. 


His early vigils are scarcely exceeded by the domestic 
Cock; the industrious farmer hears the pleasing call to 
labor, and associates with this favorite bird the idea of an 
economical, cheerful, and useful guest. 

In the Middle States, from the 15th to the 20th of April, 
the Martins begin to prepare their nest, which is usually 
made of small green or dry leaves, straws, hay, and feath- 
ers, laid in considerable quantities. The eggs, pure white, 
are from 4 to 6, and without spots. ‘They rear two broods 
in the season. Several pairs also dwell harmoniously in the 
same box. ‘The male, very attentive to his sitting mate, 
also takes part in the task of incubation; and his notes at 
this time have apparently a peculiar and expressive ten- 
derness. 

The food of the Martin is usually the larger winged in- 
sects; as wasps, bees, large beetles, such as the common 
Cetonias or goldsmiths, which are swallowed whole. His 
flight possesses all the swiftness, ease and grace of the tribe. 
Like the Swift, he glides along, as it were, without exertion. 
Sometimes he is seen passing through the crowded streets, 
eluding the passengers with the rapidity of thought; at 
others he sails among the clouds at a dizzy height, like 
something almost ethereal. 


This species is about 8 inches in length, and 16 im alar extent. 
Tail considerably forked. 


-~t 
rh) 
Or 


VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW. 


VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW. 
(Hirundo thalassina, Swans. Avp. Orn. Biog. iv. p. 597. pl. 385.) 


Spec. Cyaract.— Head green, shaded into purple on the neck; 
back grass-green; rump and upper tail-coverts reflecting carimine 
purple ; line over the eye, cheeks, and lower parts pure white. — 
Female, head, neck, and rump greyish-brown. 


We first observed this elegant species upon the table-land 
of the Rocky Mountains, and they were particularly abun- 
dant around our encampment on Hams’s Fork, a branch of 
Bear River, which empties into Lake Timpanagos. ‘They 
are nearly always associated with the Cliff Swallow, here 
likewise particularly numerous. Their flight and habits 
are also similar, but their twitter is different, and not much 
unlike the note of our Barn Swallow. In the Rocky Moun- 
tains, near our camp, we observed them go in and out of 
deserted nests of the Cliff Swallow, which they appeared 
to occupy in place of building nests of their own. We saw 
this species afterwards familiarly flying about in the vicinity 
of a farm-house on an elevated, small, isolated prairie, on 
the banks of the Wahlamet, and as there were no cliffs in 
the vicinity, they here bred in trees. This beautiful species, 
in all probability, extends its limits from hence to the table- 
land of Mexico, where Mr. Bullock first discovered it. Mr. 
Townsend says, ‘‘ It inhabits the neighborhood of the Colo- 
rado of the West, and breeds along the margin on bluffs of 
clay, where it attaches its nest, formed of mud and grasses, 
resembling in some measure that of the Cliff Swallow, but 
wanting the pendulous neck. ‘The eggs are 4, of a dark 
clay color, with a few spots of reddish-brown at the larger 
end. This species is also found abundant on the lower 
waters of the Columbia River, where it breeds in hollow 
trees.” ' 


61* 


726 SWALLOW TRIBE. 


Length nearly 5 inches ; bill narrower than in the following spe- 
cies. Wings extremely long; upper part of the head deep green, 
shaded into dark purple on the hind neck ; back grass-green ; rump 
and upper tail-coverts carmine purple by reflection, the lower parts, 
line over the eye and cheeks pure white ; lower wing-coverts light 
grey; tail emarginate. — Female, head, neck, and rump greyish- 
brown, lower parts white ; back as in the male. 


BARN SWALLOW. 


(Mirundo rufa, Guei. H. rustica, Aup. Orn. Biog. vol. ii. p. 413. pl. 
173. H. americana, Witson, v. p. 34. pl. 38. fig. 1. and 2. Phil. 
Museum, No. 7609.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Above, and band on the breast, steel-blue ; front 
and beneath chesnut-brown, paler on the belly ; tail forked, with 
a white spot on the lateral feathers, the outer ones narrow and 


long. 

Tue Barn Swallow arrives in Florida and the maritime 
parts of Georgia about the middle of March, but is not 
seen in the Middle States before the last of that month or 


BARN SWALLOW. ri | 


the beginning of April. Their northern migration extends 
to the sources of the Mississippi, the Rocky Mountains 
and the Fur countries, where distant from the habitations of 
man they inhabit caves, particularly those in the limestone 
rocks. ‘They retire from Massachusetts about the 18th of 
September, and are observed, in the same month and in 
October, passing over the peninsula of Florida on their 
way to tropical America, where they probably pass the 
winter. I have seen a straggling pair in this vicinity even 
on the 15th of October. In the months of January and 
February the common Chimney Swallow of Europe has 
been observed to moult, by Mr. Pearson of London, and 
Mr. Natterer of Vienna; with the latter they survived in 
cages, to which they are easily reconciled, for 8 or 9 years, 
and showed no propensity to torpidity. The fleetness with 
which they move, and the peculiarity of their insect fare, 
are circumstances which would impel a prompt transition 
to more favorable climates. Accidental fits of torpidity, 
like those which occasionally and transiently take place 
with the Humming-Bird, have undoubtedly happened to 
Swallows, without proving any thing against the general 
migrating instinct of the species, which as long back as 
the time of Anacreon has been generally observed, and is 
thus elegantly described by him in his 33d ode. 


Lonely Swallow, once a year, 

Pleas’d you pay your visit here ; 
When our clime the sun-beams gild, 
Here your airy nest you build ; 

And, when bright days cease to smile, 
Fly to Memphis or the Nile. 


Early in May they begin to build, against a beam or raf- 
ter, usually in the barn. ‘The external and rounding shell 
is made of pellets of mud, tempered with fine hay, and 
rendered more adhesive by the glutinous saliva of the bird; 


728 SWALLOW TRIBE. 


within is laid a bed of fine hay, and the lining is made of 
loosely arranged feathers. The eggs are 5, white, spotted 
over with reddish-brown. ‘They have usually two broods 
in the season, and the last Jeave the nest about the first 
week in August. ‘Twenty or thirty nests may sometimes 
be seen in the same barn, and two or three in a cluster, 
where each pursues his busy avocation in the most perfect 
harmony. When the young are fledged, the parents, by 
their actions and twitterings, entice them out of the nest, to 
exercise their wings within the barn, where they sit in rows 
amid the timbers of the roof, or huddle closely together in 
cool or rainy weather for mutual warmth. At length they 
venture out with their parents, and, incapable of constant 
exercise, may now be seen on trees, bushes, or fence-rails, 
near some pond or creek, convenient to their food; and 
their diet is disgorged from the stomachs or crops of their 
attentive parents. When able to provide for themselves, 
they are still often fed on the wing without either party 
alighting; so aerial and light are all their motions, that 
the atmosphere alone seems to be their favorite element. 
In the latter end of summer, parties of these social birds 
may be often seen by the sides of dusty roads, in which 
they seem pleased to bask. 

About the middle of August they leave the barns, and 
begin to prepare for their departure, assembling in great 
numbers on the roofs, still twittering with great cheerful- 
ness. Their song is very sprightly, and sometimes a good 
while continued. Some of these sounds seem like ’¢’le 
‘tle ’#letalit, uttered with rapidity and great animation. 
A while before their departure, they are observed skimming 
along the rivers and ponds after insects in great numbers, 
till the approach of sunset, when they assemble to roost 
in the reeds. 


The length of the species is about 7 inches, alar stretch 13, Exte- 


FULVOUS, OR CLIFF SWALLOW. 729 


rior feathers of the tail an inch and a half longer than the next. Iris 
dark hazel. Legs dark purple. — Female with the belly and vent 
rufous-white. 


FULVOUS, or CLIFF SWALLOW. 


(Hirundo fulva, Viriti. Bonar. Am. Orn. i. p. 63. pl. 2. fig. 1. Aub. 
pl. 68. Orn. Biog. i. p. 353. Phil. Museum, No. 7624.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Blue-black ; beneath brownish-white ; throat 
and rump ferruginous; front with a paler semi-lunar band; tail 
even. 


Tue Cliff Swallow has but recently come to the notice 
of naturalists. Its summer residence in the temperate 
parts of America is singularly scattered. ‘They have long 
occupied the regions of the Rocky Mountains, extending 
to the banks of the Columbia, the cliffs of the Missouri, 
and probably other large western rivers. According to 
Richardson they are extremely abundant in the Fur Coun- 
tries. In 1815, they were observed for the first time at 
Henderson on the banks of the Ohio, and at New Port in 
Kentucky. In 1817, they made their appearance at 
Whitehall, near Lake Champlain, in the western part of 
the state of New York. In these places their increase 
seems to have kept pace with the time since their arrival, 
augmenting their nests from a single cluster to several 
hundreds in the course of 4 or 5 years. Vieillot observed 
one at sea off Nova Scotia, and they have, in fact, long 
been commonly known in that Province. In 1818, as I 
learn from J. W. Boott, Esq., they began to build at Craw- 
ford’s, near the base of the White Mountains of New 
Hampshire. In the summer of 1830 a few nests were 
seen by General Dearborn at Winthrop in Maine; he had 
also heard of one at Gardiner in the same state. ‘The hi- 
bernal retreat of this species would appear to be in the 


730 SWALLOW TRIBE. 


West Indies, as they were seen in Porto Rico by Vieillot, 
and one was also observed in St. Domingo by the same 
author. 

In the Western States they arrive from the South early 
in April, and almost immediately begin to construct their 
nests. They commence their labor at the dawn and con- 
tinue their operations until near mid-day. They are made 
of pellets of sandy mud, disposed in layers until the 
fabric with its entrance assumes the form of a projecting 
retort, agglutinated to cliffs or the walls of buildings, as 
convenience may offer. From the nature of the friable 
materials employed, the whole is frail and crumbling in 
the possession of any but the airy owners. ‘The internal 
lining is of straw and dried grass, negligently disposed 
for the reception of the eggs, which are usually 4, and 
white, spotted with dusky brown. They raise but a single 
brood, who with their parents, after several attempts at 
mustering, finally disappear in August, as suddenly as they 
came. Mr. Townsend says, ‘‘in the neighborhood of the 
Columbia River, the Cliff Swallow attaches its nest to the 
trunks of trees, making it of the same form and materials as 
elsewhere.” The face of Pillar Rock, an isolated columnar 
mass of basalt, near Chinhook, at the estuary of the Colum- 
bia, was rendered still more fantastic and picturesque by the 
nests of the Cliff Swallow, with which it was faced; a 
small colony having taken up their abode here. They 
were, as usual, made of pellets of mud, inclosed at the top, 
but without the retort necks. 

Like the rest of their congeners, they are almost per- 
petually on the wing in quest of flies and other small in- 
sects, which constitute their ordinary food. Their note 
does not appear to resemble a twitter, and according to 
Audubon it may be imitated by rubbing a moistened cork 
round in the neck of a bottle. In Kentucky, until the com- 


~ 


WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW. 731 


mencement of incubation, the whole party resorted to roost 
in the hollow limbs of the button-wood trees (Platanius acci- 
dentalis.) However curious, it is certain, that the birds 
have but recently discovered the advantage of associating 
round the habitations of men. 

The Cliff Swallow is about 54 inches long, the alar extent 12. Iris 
hazel. The semi-lunar frontal band pale rufous white. Tail-coverts 


pale yellowish-red. Wings and tail brownish-black. — Female sim- 
ilar. 


WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW. 


(Hirundo bicolor, Vir1tt. Avon. Orn. Biog. i. p. 491. pl. 98. H. 
virides, WiLSoN, Vv. p. 44. pl. 38. fig. 3. Phil. Museum, No. 7797.) 


Spec. CHaract.— Dark greenish-blue, beneath white ; tail forked ; 
the tarsi naked. 


Tis species, less common than the Barn Swallow, and 
nearly allied to the Common Martin, arrives in Pennsylvania 
and New England about the middle of April, and extends 
its migrations over the continent nearly to the arctic circle, 
having been seen by Dr. Richardson in the latitude of 53° ; 
they are also abundantly dispersed over the Rocky Moun- 
tains and the Columbia River, where they breed as well as 
around Hudson’s Bay, and throughout the Northern and 
Middle States. On their arrival, like many other species, 
they seek out the society of man, and frequently take pos- 
session of the mansion of the Martin. When these advan- 
tages are unattainable, they will content themselves with 
the eaves of some deserted dwelling, a hollow tree, their 
ancient residence, or even an horizontal branch, when large 
and convenient. ‘The nest is made without mud, of fine 
dry grass loosely put together, and copiously lined with 
feathers. ‘The eggs are 4 or 5, and pure white; and they 
commonly raise two broods in the season. 


foe SWALLOW TRIBE. 


The note of this species is a shrill lively warbling twit- 
ter; but they are more quarrelsome and less sociable in the 
breeding season than the Barn Swallow. In the spring 
their protracted angry contentions and rapid chatter are 
often heard in the air. Their food is similar to that of the 
species above mentioned, and they make a snapping sound 
with the bill in the act of seizing their prey. ‘They pro- 
ceed to the South in September, and according to the ob- 
servations of Audubon, pass nearly, if not quite, the whole 
winter, in the cypress swamps near to New Orleans, and 
probably in the Mexican vicinity. He observed them about 
the middle of December, and also near to the close of Jan- 
uary. ‘* During the whole winter many retired to the holes 
around houses, but the greater number resorted to the lakes, 
and spent the night among the branchesof the wax myrtle,”’ 
whose berries, at this season, afford them a support on which 
they fatten, and are then considered as excellent food. 
About sunset they usually began to flock together, at a pe- 
culiar call, and were then seen almost in clouds moving to- 
wards the neighboring lagoons, or the estuaries of the Mis- 
sissippi. Before alighting, they perform their aérial evolu- 
tions to reconnoitre the place of roosting ; soon after which 
they rapidly descend, as it were in aspiral vortex, almost like 
the fall of a water-spout, and when within a few feet of the 
wax myrtles, they disperse, and settle at leisure ; but their 
twittering and the motions of their wings are heard through- 
out the night. At dawn, they rise, at first flying low over 
the waters, which they almost touch, and then rising, gra- 
dually separate in quest of food. During their low flight, 
numbers of them are often killed by canoe-men with the 
mere aid of their paddles.* This predilection for the borders 
of lakes and ponds led some of the ancient writers to believe 
that Swallows retired to the bottom of the water during the 


* AupuBON. Orn. Biog. i, p. 356. 


BANK SWALLOW, OR SAND MARTIN. 733 


winter ; and some fishermen on the coast of the Baltic pre- 
tended to have taken them up in their nets in large knots, 
clinging together by their bills and claws in a state of tor- 
pidity. 

The length of this species is about 53 inches, alar extent 12. Above 
light glossy greenish-blue. Wings and tail brownish-black. The 
closed wings extend about a quarter of an inch beyond the tail. The 
female is less glossy green. 


BANK SWALLOW, or SAND MARTIN. 


(Hirundo riparia, L. Wirson, v. p. 46. pl. 38. fig. 4. Aup. Orn. Biog 
vol. iv. p. 584. pl. 385. Phil. Museum, No. 7637.) 


Spec. Coaract.— Above, and band on the breast cinereous brown ; 
beneath white; tail forked ; the tarsus with a few tufts of downy 
feathers behind. — The young, at first, have the feathers slightly 
bordered with rufous, this edging more conspicuous on the wing- 
coverts and tertials. 


Tuts plain looking and smaller species, though equally 
gregarious with other kinds, does not court the protection 
or society of man; at least their habitations are remote from 
his. ‘They commonly take possession for this purpose of 
the sandy bank or bluff of a river, quarry, or gravel pit, 2 
or 3 feet below the upper surface of the bank. In such 
places, in the month of April, they may be observed bur- 
rowing horizontally with their awl-like bills, when, at length 
having obtained a foot-hold in the cliff, they also use their 
feet, and continue this labor to the depth of 2 or 3 feet. 
Many of these holes may be often seen within a few inches 
of each other. ‘The nest itself, at the extremity of this 
cavern, is loosely made of a little dry grass, and a few 
downy feathers. The eggs are about 5, and pure white. 
They have generally two broods in the season and on the 
egress of the young, in the latter end of May, the piratical 

62 


7134 SWALLOW TRIBE. 


Crows often await their opportunity to destroy them as they 
issue from the nest. In rocky countries they often take 
possession of the clefts on the banks of rivers for their dwell- 
ing, and sometimes they content themselves with the holes 
of trees. 

Their voice is only a low twitter of short lisping notes ; 
and, while busily passing backwards and forwards in the 
air around their numerous burrows, they seem at a distance 
almost similar to hiving bees. As they arrive earlier than 
other species, the cold and unsettled weather often drives 
them for refuge in their holes, where they cluster together 
for warmth, and have thus been found almost reduced to a 
state of torpidity. Dwelling thus shut up, they are often 
troubled with swarms of infesting insects, resembling fleas, 
which assemble in great numbers around their holes. They 
begin to depart to the South from the close of September 
to the middle of October. Although they avoid dwelling 
near houses, they do not fly from settled vicinities ; and par- 
ties of 6 or more, several miles from their nests, have been 
seen skimming through the streets of adjacent villages in the 
province of Normandy. | 

They are found on both sides of North America, from the 
shores of the Atlantic to the borders of the Columbia and in 
all the intermediate region suited to their manner of breed- 
ing. According to Audubon they winter in great numbers 
in Florida, and breed from Labrador to Louisiana. ‘They 
are also equally common to Europe and South Africa, and 
Aristotle relates that they were numerous in the narrow pass 
of the mountains in Greece. 

The Bank Swallow is 5 inches long, and 10 in alar stretch. Tail 


forked, the outer feather slightly edged with whitish. Wings and 
tail darker than the body. 


ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. 735 


ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. 


(Hirundo serripennis Aub. Orn. Biog. iv. p. 593.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Tail slightly emarginate, margin of the first quill 
rough with the strong decurved tips of the filaments ; above greyish- 
brown, below rather paler. 


We are indebted to Audubon for the discovery of this 
species, so much allied to the preceding, who first observed 
it near Bayou Sara, and afterwards in South Carolina. Of 
their habits he says nothing; but they are rarer, and he 
thinks their habitual residence may prove to be far to the 
westward, perhaps the valleys of the Columbia. 


Length 5% inches; alar extent 125; above greyish-brown, below 
lighter; belly and lower tail coverts white, tarsus bare ; tail slightly 
emarginate ; margin of the first quill rough with the strong decurved 
tips of the barbs ; it differs principally from the Bank Swallow in hay- 
ing the bill longer and more attenuated towards the tip, and with the 
point of the upper mandible more decurved ; the tail shorter, slightly 
emarginate and the tarsus bare. 


CHATURA. (Sreru.) SWIFTS. 


In these birds the Bit is extremely short, triangular, cleft to be- 
neath the hind partof the eyes, depressed, the upper mandible slightly 
notched and curved at the point. Nosrritrs lateral, contiguous, 
large, and oblong. Toncur short, wide, and bifid at tip. Tarsus 
naked. eet very short, toes divided, hind toe shortest, versatile, 
generally directed forward ; nails retractile, channeled beneath. 
Wings extremely long, Ist primary longest. Tail of 10 feathers, 
short, even, the shafts very strong, and prolonged into acuminate 
points. 

The sexes and young nearly alike in plumage ; with the moult an- 
nual. The Swifts live still more in the air than the Swallows, gene- 
rally flying at great elevations; they flap their wings only at inter- 
vals, and appear as if sailing in the atmosphere in wide circles. They 
are rarely seen at rest, and then upon elevated places, but never on 


736 SWALLOW TRIBE. 


the ground. They make their nests in chimneys and hollow trees, of 
twigs, the materials attached together by a viscous substance secreted 
from the stomach of the bird, which acquires hardness and consistence 
in drying. They pass the greater part of the day in their roosting- 
places. The egg, 4, are spotless, and white. 


CHIMNEY SWIFT, orn SWALLOW. 


(Chetura pelasgia, Stern. Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 8. Auvp, Orn. Biog. 
ii. p. 329. pl. 158. Cypselus pelasgius, Temm. Hirundo pelasgia, 
Witson, v. p. 48. pl. 39. fig. 1. Phil. Museum, No. 7673.) 


Spec. CHaract. — Sooty-brown; chin and line over the eye dull 
whitish ; wings extending far beyond the tail; tail even, with the 
feathers mucronate. 


Tuis singular bird, after passing the winter in tropical 
America, arrives in the Middle and Northern States late in 
April or early in May. Their migrations extend, at least, 
to the sources of the Mississippi, where they were observed 
by Mr. Say. More social than the foreign species, which 
frequent rocks and ruins, our Swift takes advantage of un- 
occupied and lofty chimneys, their original roost and nest- 
ing situation being tall, gigantic, hollow trees, such as the 
elm and button-wood (Platanus.) 'The nest is formed of 
slender twigs, neatly interlaced, somewhat like a basket, 
and connected sufficiently together by a copious quantity of 
adhesive gum or mucilage secreted by the stomach of the 
curious architect. This rude cradle of the young is small 
and shallow, and attached, at the sides, to the wall of some 
chimney, or the inner surface of a hollow tree: it is wholly 
destitute of lining. The eggs are usually 4, and white. 
They have commonly two broods in the season. So assid- 
uous are the parents, that they feed the young through the 
greater part of the night; their habits, however, are nearly 
nocturnal, as they fly abroad most at and before sunrise, and 


CHIMNEY SWIFT, OR SWALLOW. 737 


in the twilight of evening. The noise which they make, 
while passing up and down the chimney, resembles almost 
the rumbling of distant thunder. When the nests get loos- 
ened by rains, so as to fall down, the young, though blind, 
find means to escape, by creeping up and clinging to the 
sides of the chimney walls; in this situation they continue 
to be fed for a week or more. Soon tired of their hard cra- 
dle, they generally leave it long before they are capable of 
flying. 

On their first arrival, and for a considerable time after, 
the males, particularly, associate to roost ina general resort. 
This situation, in the remote and unsettled parts of the 
country, is usually a large, hollow tree, open at top. These 
well-known Swallow-trees are ignorantly supposed to be the 
winter quarters of the species, where, in heaps, they doze 
away the cold season in a state of torpidity ; but no proof of 
the fact is ever adduced. The length of time such trees 
have been resorted to by particular flocks may be conceiy- 
ed perhaps, by the account of a hollow tree of this kind de- 
scribed by the Rey. Dr. Harris in his Journal. The Pla- 
tanus alluded to, grew in the upper part of Waterford, in 
Ohio, two miles from the Muskingum, and its hollow trunk, 
now fallen, of the diameter of 54 feet, and for nearly 15 
feet upwards, contained an entire mass of decayed Swallow 
feathers, mixed with brownish dust and the exuvia of in- 
sects. In inland towns they have been known to make 
their general roost in the chimney of the court-house. Be- 
fere descending, they fly in large flocks, making many am- 
ple and circuitous sweeps in the air; and as the point of 
the vortex falls, individuals drop into the chimney by de- 
grees, until the whole have descended, which generally 
takes place in the dusk of the evening. ‘They all, however, 
disappear about the first week in August. Like the rest of 
the tribe, the Chimney Swift flies very quick, and with but 

62* 


738 SWALLOW TRIBE. 


slight vibrations of its wings; appearing as it were to swim 
in the air in widening circles, shooting backwards and for- 
wards through the ambient space at great elevations, and 
yet scarcely moving its wings. Now and then it is heard 
to utter, in a hurried manner, a sound like ¢sip tsip tsip 
tsee tsee. It is never seen to alight but in hollow trees or 
chimneys, and appears always most gay and active in wet 
and gloomy weather. ‘The wonderful account of the Swal- 
low roosts in Honduras, given by Captain Henderson, ap- 
pears to be entirely applicable to this species. 


The Chimney Swift is 44 inches in length, and 12 in alar extent. 
Feet very muscular, the claws exceedingly sharp. The closed wings 
extend 14 inches beyond the tail, which is rounded, with the shafts 
extending beyond their vanes into sharp, strong, and very elastic 
points, which thus afford assistance in clinging to their singular 
roosts. The eye black, surrounded by a bare blackish skin or orbit. 


VAUX’S CHIMNEY SWIFT. 


(Chetura Vauzii, Nozts. Cypselus Vauai, Towns. Journal Acad. 
Nat. Sciences, vol. viil. part 1.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Dull smoke brown; rump and tail lighter ; throat 
greyish-white ; below cinereous-grey ; length 34 inches, 


Tus species, closely allied to the preceding, was dis- 
covered by my friend Mr. Townsend on the Columbia 
River, where it breeds in hollow trees, forming its nest in 
the same manner as the Common Swift, laying 4 eggs, pure 
white. It differs from the other, for which it has been mis- 
taken, by being much smaller and with the color lighter. 


Length 34 inches; alar extent 10. Bill, legs and feet brownish- 
black. Above dull smoke-brown, inclining to blackish, particularly on 
the shoulders ; rump and tail lighter, dull cinereous brown; throat 
and upper portion of the breast greyish-white ; below cinereous-grey. 
Iris dark hazel. 


GOATSUCKERS. 739 


CAPRIMULGIN.E. GOATSUCKERS. 


Wirn the gitt extremely short, feeble, and cleft beyond the eyes ; 
upper mandible almost always surrounded with spreading bristles 
and somewhat hooked at the tip, the margin turned outward. Nos- 
TRILS basal, wide, partly closed by a feathered membrane, and leay- 
ing usually a tubular opening. Tonevr small, acute, and entire. 
Feet, tarsi partly feathered, the anterior toes united by a small mem- 
brane to the Ist or 2d articulation ; the hind toe reversible; claw of 
the 3d toe with the inner margin pectinate. .Vails very short, be- 
neath channeled. Wings long, the 1st primary shorter than the 2d 
and 3d, which are longest. Tail of 10 feathers. — Female easily dis- 
tinguishable from the male; but the young similar with the adult. 
They moult once or twice in the year; and the plumage is of dull 
and very blended colors. 

These are solitary, shy, and sylvan birds, flying rapidly in the twi- 
light and night, when their vision is more acute. Except in cloudy 
weather, they remain concealed by day, like Owls; and in conse- 
quence of the softness of their feathers, their flight is nearly silent. 
They hunt for moths with the mouth extended open. They remain 
constantly paired, and in the breeding season flutter their wings like 
Pigeons. They lay 1 or 2 large eggs on the ground, without nest, 
and rarely in a hollow tree, or in the cleft of a rock. The voice is 
unpleasant, quaint, and monotonous. They sometimes also utter a 
booming sound in flight, usually at the moment of rapidly descending 
in their aérial gyrations, They inhabit all parts of the globe, but 
abound in the warmer parts of America. 


ANTROSTOMUS. (Govutv.) VOCIFEROUS 
GOATSUCKERS. 


Birt extremely short, feeble, opening to beyond the eyes; upper 
mandible arched, contracted towards the compressed tip ; lower man- 
dible a little decurved. Nostrils basal, oval, prominent, covered 
above by amembrane. Head very large, as well as the eyes and 
ears, Feet very short+; tarsus partly feathered ; fore toes 3, connect- 
ed by membranes to the 2d joint; middle toe pectinated. Bristles of 
the mouth conspicuous. Wings long, rather falecate; 2d and 3d 
quills longest. Tail ample, even. 


740 GOATSUCKERS. 


These are nocturnal birds, remarkable for the quaint cries they 
utter, almost similar to the tones of the human voice. They roost 
usually in hollow trees through the day, except when incubating ; and 
feed on insects. They nest on the ground, and lay only about 2 
eggs. They fly with ease and celerity, but make no humming 
gyrations. 


‘ CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW.’ 


(Antrostomus carolinensis, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 8. Caprimulgus car- 
olinensis, Gm. WILSON, vi. p. 95. pl. 54. fig. 2. Aup. pl. 52. Orn. 
Biog. i. p. 273. Phil. Museum, No. 7723.) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Bristles of the mouth shorter than the bill; tail 
rounded, reaching an inch beyond the wings; 3 outer tail-feathers 
white on the inner web at tip. Length 12 inches. — Female with 
the tip of the 3 outer tail-feathers dark ochreous. 


Tue Carolina Goatsucker is seldom seen to the north 
of Virginia, though in the interior its migrations extend 
up the shores of the Mississippi to the 38th degree. Af- 
ter wintering in some part of the tropical continent of 
America, it arrives in Georgia and Louisiana about the 
middle of March, and in Virginia early in April. Like 
the following species, it commences its singular serenade 
of ’chuck-’will’s-widow, in the evening soon after sunset, 
and continues it with short interruptions for several hours. 
Towards morning, the note is also renewed, until the open- 
ing dawn. In the day, like some wandering spirit, it re- 
tires to secrecy and silence, as if the whole had only been 
a disturbed dream. In a still evening this singular call 
may be heard for half a mile, its tones being slower, 
louder, and more full than those of the Whip-Poor-Will. 
The species is particularly numerous in the vast forests of 
the Mississippi, where throughout the evening its echoing 
notes are heard in the solitary glens, and from the sur- 
rounding and silent hills, becoming almost incessant during 
the shining of the moon; and at the boding sound of 


¢ CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW.’ 7Al 


its elfin voice, when familiar and strongly reiterated, the 
thoughtful, superstitious savage becomes sad and pensive. 
Its flight is low, and it skims only a few feet above the 
surface of the ground, frequently settling on logs and 
fences, from whence it often sweeps around in pursuit of 
flying moths and insects which constitute its food. Some- 
times they are seen sailing near the ground, and occaston- 
ally descend to pick up a beetle, or flutter lightly round the 
trunk of a tree in quest of some insect crawling upon the 
bark. In rainy and gloomy weather, they remain silent in 
the hollow log which affords them and the bats a common 
roost and refuge by day. When discovered in this critical 
situation, and without the means of escape, they ruffle up 
their feathers, spread open their enormous mouths, and utter 
a murmur almost like the hissing of a snake, thus endeav- 
oring, apparently, to intimidate their enemy when cut off 
from the means of escape. 

This species, like most others, also lays its eggs, two in 
number, merely on the ground, and usually in the woods ; 
they are yellowish-white, sprinkled with dark bluish-purple 
and brown specks, oval, and rather large ; if they be handled, 
or even the young, the parents, suspicious of danger, remove 
them to some other place. As early as the middle of Au- 
gust, according to Audubon, they retire from the United 
States; though some winter in the central parts of Hast 
Florida. 


This species is about 12 inches long, and 26 in alar extent. The 
whole body clothed with feathers more or less sprinkled and mottled 
with brown, rufous, black and white ; the tail with zig-zag and her- 
ring-bone figures of black. Across the throat a slight band of whit- 
ish, the breast black, powdered with ferruginous, the belly and vent 
lighter. 


‘WHIP-POOR WILL.’ 


(4ntrostomus vociferus, Bonar. p. 8. Caprimulgus vociferus, WILsoN, 
v. p. 71. pl. 41. fig, 1,2, 3. Avp. Orn. Biog. i. p. 422. pl 82.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Bristles on the cheeks much longer than the bill ; 
tail greatly rounded, reaching one half beyond the wings; prima- 
ries chequered with dark spots.— Male, with the 3 outer tail- 
feathers white at the summits.—In the female the same part is 
pale ochreous, as well as the crescent line on the throat. 


Tuts remarkable and well known nocturnal bird ar- 
rives in the Southern States in March, and in the Mid- 
dle States about the close of April, or the beginning 
of May, and proceeds, in his vernal migrations along 
the Atlantic States, to the centre of Massachusetts, 
being rare and seldom seen beyond the latitude of 


‘ WHIP-POOR-WILL.’ 743 


43°; and yet in the interior of the continent, according 
to Vieillot, they continue as far as Hudson’s Bay, and 
were heard, as usual, by Mr. Say, at Pembino in the 
high latitude of 49°. In all this vast intermediate space, 
as far south as Natchez on the Mississippi, and the inte- 
rior of Arkansas, they familiarly breed and take up their 
temporary residence. Some also pass the winter in the in- 
terior of East Florida, according to Audubon. In the 
eastern part of Massachusetts, however, they are uncom- 
mon, and always affect sheltered, wild, and hilly situations, 
for which they have in general a preference. About the 
same time that the sweetly echoing voice of the Cuckoo is 
first heard in the north of Europe, issuing from the leafy 
groves, as the sure harbinger of the flowery month of 
May, arrives amongst us, in the shades of night, the myste- 
rious ‘ Whip-poor-will.’ The well known saddening sound 
is first only heard in the distant forest, reéchoing from 
the lonely glen or rocky cliff; at length, the oft-told soli- 
tary tale is uttered from the fence of the adjoining field or 
garden, and sometimes the slumbering inmates of the 
cottage are serenaded from the low roof or from some dis- 
tant shed. Superstition, gathering terror from every ex- 
traordinary feature of nature, has not suffered this harm- 
less nocturnal babbler to escape suspicion, and his fa- 
miliar approaches are sometimes dreaded as an omen of 
misfortune, 

In the lower part of the state of Delaware, I have found 
these birds troublesomely abundant in the breeding sea- 
son, so that the reiterated echoes of ’whip-’whip-poor will, 
’whip-peri-will, issuing from several birds at the same 
time, occasioned such a confused vociferation, as at first 
to banish sleep. This call, except in moonlight nights, 
is continued usually till midnight, when they cease until 
again aroused, for a while, at the commencement of twi- 


744 GOATSUCKERS. 


light. The first and last syllables of this brief ditty receive 
the strongest emphasis, and, now and then, a sort of guttu- 
ral cluck is heard between the repetitions, but the whole 
phrase is uttered in little more than a second of time. 

But if superstition takes alarm at our familiar and simple 
species, what would be thought by the ignorant of a South 
American kind, large as the Wood Owl, which, in the 
lonely forests of Demerara, about midnight breaks out, la- 
menting like one in deep distress, and in a tone more 
dismal even than the painful hexachord of the slothful Ai. 
The sounds, like the expiring sighs of some agonizing 
victim, begin with a high, loud note, ‘‘ha, ha, ha haha! 
ha! ha!” each tone falling lower and lower, till the last 
syllable is scarcely heard, pausing a moment or two be- 
tween this reiterated tale of seeming sadness. 

Four other species of the Goatsucker, according to 
Waterton, also inhabit this tropical wilderness, among 
which also is included our present subject. Figure to 
yourself the surprise and wonder of the stranger who 
takes up his solitary abode for the first night amidst these 
awful and interminable forests, when, at twilight, he be- 
gins to be assailed familiarly with a spectral equivocal 
bird, approaching within a few yards, and then accosting 
him with ‘“‘ who-are-you, ’who-who-'who-are-you” ?  An- 
other approaches, and bids him, as if a slave under 
the lash, “‘work-away, work-work-work-away ;’’ a third 
mournfully cries, ‘‘ willy-come-go! ’willy-willy-willy-come- 
go!” and as you get among the high lands, our old ac- 
quaintance vociferates “‘ whip-poor-will, ’whip-’whip-whip- 
poor-will!’’ It is therefore not surprising, that such un- 
earthly sounds should be considered in the light of super- 
natural forebodings issuing from spectres in the guise of 
birds. 

Although our Whip-Poor-Will seems to speak out in 


° WHIP-POOR-WILL.’ 745 


such plain English, to the ears of the aboriginal Delaware 
its call was wecodlis, though this was probably some favor- 
ite phrase or interpretation, which served it for a name. 
The Whip-Poor-Will, when engaged in these nocturnal 
rambles, is seen to fly within a few feet of the surface in 
quest of moths and other insects, frequently, where abun- 
dant, alighting around the house. During the day they 
retire into the darkest woods, usually on high ground, 
where they pass the time in silence and repose, the weak- 
ness of their sight by day compelling them to avoid the 
glare of the light. 

The female commences laying about the second week in 
May in the Middle States, considerably later in Massachu- 
setts; she is at no pains to form a nest though she selects 
for her deposit some unfrequented part of the forest, near 
a pile of brush, a heap of leaves, or the low shelving of a 
hollow reck, and always in a dry situation; here she lays 
2 eggs, without any appearance of an artificial bed. They 
are of a dusky bluish-white, thickly blotched with dark 
olive. This deficiency of nest is amply made up by the 
provision ef nature, for, like Partridges, the young are 
soon able to run about after their parents; and, until the 
growth of their feathers, they seem such shapeless lumps 
of clay-colored down, that it becomes nearly impossible to 
distinguish them from the ground on which they repose. 
Were a nest present in the exposed places where we find 
the young, none would escape detection. The mother, 
also, faithful to her charge, deceives the passenger by pros- 
trating herself along the ground with beating wings, as if 
in her dying agony. ‘The activity of the young and old in 
walking, and the absence of a nest, widely distinguishes 
these birds from the Swallows, with which they are asso- 
ciated. A young fledged bird of this species, presented 
to me, ran about with great celerity, but refused to eat, 

63 


746 GOAT SUCKERS. 


and kept continually calling out at short intervals pé-agh, 
in a low mournful note.* 

After the period of incubation, or about the middle of 
June, the vociferations of the male cease, or are but 
rarely given. ‘Towards the close of summer, previously 
to their departure, they are again occasionally heard, but 
their note is now languid and seldom uttered; and early 
in September they leave us for the more genial climate 
of tropical America, being there found giving their usual 
lively cry in the wilds of Cayenne and Demerara. 
They enter the United States early in March, but are 
some weeks probably in attaining their utmost northern 
limit. 

Their food apears to be large moths, beetles, grasshop- 
pers, ants, and such insects as frequent the bark of decay- 
ing timber. Sometimes, in the dusk, they will skim within 
a few feet of a person, making a low chatter as they pass; 
they also, in common with other species, flutter occasion- 
ally around the domestic cattle to catch any insects which 
approach or rest upon them, and hence the mistaken notion 
of their sucking goats, while they only cleared them of 
molesting vermin. 


The Whip-Poor-Will is 94 inches long, and 19 in the stretch of the 
wings. The bill blackish; nostrils tubular. Mouth very large, pale 
flesh-color within, and beset along the sides with a number of long 
thick bristles, the longest extending more than 3 an inch beyond the 
point of the bill. Eyes bluish-black. The plumage above intricately 
variegated with black, brownish-white, and rust-color, sprinkled and 
powdered with numerous minute streaks and spots. Upper part of 
the head light brownish-grey, marked with a longitudinal stripe of 
black, with others passing out from it; the back is darker, finely 
streaked with a lighter color. The scapulars are very light yellow- 
ish white, variegated with a few oblique spots of black. Tail rounded, 


* The resemblance of this tone to that of the Purple Martin is somewhat re- 
markable. 


NIGHT-HAWK. 747 


of 10 feathers, the exterior 14 inches shorter than the middle ones ; 
the 3 outer feathers on each side are blackish-brown for half their 
length, and from thence white to their summits; the exterior one is 
edged with deep brown, studded with paler spots ; the 4 middle ones 
are without the white at the ends, and marked with herring-bone 
figures of black and pale ochre finely powdered. Cheeks and sides 
of the head nearly of a brick-color. The wings elegantly spotted 
with very light and dark brown. Chin black, with small brown 
spots. A narrow semicircle of white passes across the throat; breast 
and belly irregularly mottled and streaked with black and yellow 
ochre. Legs and feet of a light purplish flesh-color, seamed with 
white ; the former feathered before, nearly to the feet. Middle claw 
pectinated.— the female is about an inch less. 


NUTTALL’S GOAT-SUCKER. 


(Antrostomus Nuttallii. Caprimulgus Nuttallii, Avp. Orn. Biog. 9. p. 
339.) 


Turs small species was first seen by us on the 10th of June, amidst 
the naked granite hills of the upper branch of the Platte, called 
Sweet Water, about twilight, uttering from the clefts of the rocks at 
intervals a low wailing cry in the manner of the Whip-poor- Will, at 
times sounding like pé-eu, (the call of the young of the latter species.) 
On the 7th of August, while camped in the high ravine of the south- 
ernmost of the Three Butes or insulated mountains which are so con- 
spicuous from Lewis's River, this bird, in the evening, flew from 
under a stone near the summit of the mountain. It was smaller than 
any other species we have, had no white marks or blotches either on 
the tail or wings, was bright ferruginous on the head, back and wings. 
It flew about hawking for insects for two or three hours near our ele- 
vated camp, but was now silent, the breeding season being probably 
past. On the 16th of June, near the banks of Sandy river of the 
Colorado, I again heard the nocturnal cry of this bird something like 
pevdl pevai pevat. 


CHORDEILES. (Swains.) NIGHT-HAWK. 


Movru opening to beneath the centre of the eyes ; bill very small ; 
upper mandible declinate at tip and with a deep lateral groove. Nos- 


748 GOATSUCKERS. 


trils oblong, prominent, with an elevated margin. Eyes large. Ear 
large and elliptical ; the 3 fore-toes, connected by webs as far as the 
2d joint. Middle toe nail pectinate. No bristles on the front. 
Wings very long, pointed, Ist quill longest; secondaries very short. 
Tail emarginate. 

Nearly allied to the genus Caprimulgus, and to the European spe- 
cies in particular, of which it has in general, the habits, wheeling 
about in wide circles at twilight and during dark weather, seizing 
insects on the wing as well as on the ground, and at regular intervals 
sweeping down in rapid gyrations with a jarring sound, like the noise 
of a spinning wheel. Unlike the preceding they have scarcely any 
note or voice more than a squeak. 


NIGHT-HAWK or NIGHT-JAR. 


(Chordeiles virginianus, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 8. Caprimulgus virgin- 
zanus, Briss. Aup. Orn. Biog. 11. p. 273. pl. 147. C. americanus, 
Witson, v. p. 65. pl. 40. fig. 1. and 2. C. popetue, Viritx. Phil. 
Museum, No. 7723, 7724.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Bill without bristles; tail forked, not extending as 
far as the tips of the wings; primaries plain blackish, with a 
white spot. —.Male, with a triangular band on the throat, and a 
white band on the tail. 


Towarps the close of April the Night-Hawk arrives in 
the Middle States, and early in May they are first seen 
near the sea-coast of Massachusetts, which at all times 
appears to be a favorite resort. In the interior of the con- 
tinent they penetrate as far as the sources of the Missis- 
sippi, the Rocky Mountains, and the territory of Oregon ; 
they are likewise observed around the dreary coasts of 
Hudson’s Bay and the remotest Arctic islands, breeding 
in the whole intermediate region to the more temperate 
and elevated parts of Georgia. They are now commonly 
seen towards evening, in pairs, sailing round in sweeping 
circles, high in the air, occasionally descending lower to 


NIGHT-HAWK OR NIGHT-JAR. 749 
capture flying insects, chiefly of the larger kind, such as 
wasps, beetles, and moths. About the middle of May, or 
later, the female selects some open spot in the woods, the 
corner of a corn-field, or dry gravelly knoll, on which to 
deposit her eggs, which are only 2, and committed to the 
bare ground, where, however, from the similarity of their 
tint with the soil, they are, in fact, more secure from ob- 
servation than if placed in anest. They are nearly oval, 
of a muddy bluish-white, marked all over with touches 
of an umber color. Here the male and his mate reside 
during the period of incubation, roosting at a distance 
from each other on the ground, or in the neighboring 
trees ; and in consequence of the particular formation of 
their feet, like the rest of the genus, they roost or sit 
lengthwise on the branch. During the progress of incu- 
bation, the female is seen frequently, for some hours before 
nightfall, playing about in the air over the favorite spot, 
mounting in wide circles, occasionally propelled by alter- 
nate quick and slow vibrations of the wings, until at times 
he nearly ascends beyond the reach of sight, and is only 
known by his sharp and sudden squeak, which greatly re- 
sembles the flying shriek of the towering Swift. At other 
times he is seen suddenly to precipitate himself downwards 
for 60 or 80 feet, and wheeling up again as rapidly; at 
which instant a hollow whirr, like the rapid turning of a 
spinning-wheel, or astrong blowing into the bung-hole of an 
empty hogshead, is heard, and supposed to be produced by 
the action of the air on the wings or in the open mouth of 
the bird. He then again mounts as before, playing about in 
his ascent, and giving out his harsh squeak till in a few 
moments, the hovering is renewed as before; and at this 
occupation, the male solely continues till the close of twi- 
light. The European Goatsucker is heard to utter the hol- 
low whirr when perched, and while holding it head down- 

63* 


750 GOATSUCKERS. 


-wards, so that it does not appear to be produced by the 
rushing of the air. The female, if disturbed while sitting 
on her charge, will suffer the spectator to advance within a 
foot or two of her before she leaves the nest; she then tum- 
bles about and flutters with an appearance of lameness, to 
draw off the observer, when, atlength, she mounts into the 
air and disappears. On other occasions, the parent, probably 
the attending male, puffs himself up as it were into a ball of 
feathers ; at the same time striking his wings on the ground, 
and opening his capacious mouth to its full extent, he stares 
wildly, and utters a blowing hiss, like that of the Barn Owl 
when surprised in his hole. On observing this grotesque 
manceuvre, and this appearance so unlike that of a volatile 
bird, we are struck with the propriety of the metaphorical 
French name of ‘ Crapaud volans,’ or Flying Toad, which 
it indeed much resembles while thus shapelessly tumbling 
before the astonished spectator. The same feint is also 
made when they are wounded, on being approached. Like 
some of the other species, instinctively vigliant for the 
safety of their misshapen and tender brood, they also proba- 
bly convey them or the eggs from the scrutiny of the med- 
dling observer. In our climate they have no more than a 
single brood. 

Sometimes the Night-Hawk, before his departure, is seen 
to visit the towns and cities, sailing in circles, and uttering 
his squeak as he flies high and securely over the busy 
streets, occasionally sweeping down, as usual, with his whirr- 
ing notes; and at times he may be observed, even on the 
tops of chimneys, uttering his harsh call. In gloomy wea- 
ther, they are abroad nearly the whole day, but are most 
commonly in motion an hour or two before dusk. Sometimes, 
indeed they are seen out in the brightest and hottest weather, 
and occasionally, while basking in the sun, find means to 
give chase to the Cicindeli, Carabi, and other entirely 


NIGHT-HAWK, OR NIGHT-JAR. 751 


diurnal insects, as well as grasshoppers, with which they 
often gorge themselves in a surprising manner; but they 
probably seldom feed more than an hour or two in the course 
of the day. On Wappatoo Island at the estuary of the 
Wahlamet they were till the 10th of September numerous 
and familiar, alighting often close to the dwellings in quest 
probably of crawling insects which come out in the dark. 

About the middle of August, they begin their migrations 
towards the south, on which occasion they may be seen in 
the evening moving in scattered flocks, consisting of several 
hundreds together, and darting after insects, or feeding 
leisurely, as they advance towards more congenial climes. 
For two or three weeks these processions along the rivers 
and their banks, tending towards their destination, are 
still continued. Mingled with the wandering host, are 
sometimes also seen the different species of Swallow, a fami- 
ly to which they are so much allied in habits and character ; 
but by the 20th of September the whole busy troop have dis- 
appeared for the season. 


The Night-Hawk is 93 inches in length, and 23 in alar extent. 
Above deep blackish-brown, powdered, on the back, scapulars, and 
head, with innumerable spots and touches of a pale cream-color, and 
interspersed with rufous specks. A spot of white extends over the 5 
first primaries. Below marked with transverse lines of dusky and 
yellowish. — Female half an inch shorter. 


ORDER NINTH. 


COLUMBINA:. PIGEON TRIBE. 


Tur BILL of moderate size, compressed, vaulted, turgid 
towards the tip which is more or less curved; the base of 
the upper mandible covered with a soft skin, protuberant at 
its base, in which the nostrils are situated. Nostrits 
medial, longitudinal. Tongue acute, entire. cet short 
and rather robust, the tarsi reticulated ; toes divided. Wings 
moderate. ail of 12 or 14 feathers.—'The female general- 
ly similar in plumage to the male. The young differ con- 
siderably previous to the first moult, which is annual. 

The birds of this order, in their mild and familiar man- 
ners, have a near relation with the Gallinaceous order fol- 
lowing. ‘They are gregarious, living in thick forests, or on 
high buildings. Their food, consisting of grain and seeds, 
rarely of insects, undergoes a preparatory maceration in the 
crop, before passing into the stomach, and with the same 
kind of prepared and disgorged nutriment they feed their 
young, which only quit the nest when in a condition to fly. 
They generally build in forests, or in the clefts of rocks, 
ruins, or hollow trees, and often make a loose and shallow 
nest of small twigs, roomy enough to accommodate both 
sexes; they lay generally 2 eggs, several times in a year, 
and though so remarkably gregarious, after the termination 
of the breeding season, they are still said to be paired for 
life. At this time the male is remarkable for his assiduous 


BAND-TAILED PIGEON. 753 


and affectionate address, rustling with the wings, billing 
and cooing, with various gallant evolutions. ‘They com- 
monly quench their thirst at a single draught, at the same 
time immerging the bill into the water. ‘They have nosong, 
or other note than their plaintive and monotonous coo. 
Species are found to inhabit all climates, but they are most 
numerous in warm countries. 


PIGEONS. (Cotumpa, L.) 


The character of the genus similar with that of the order. 


Subgenus. — Cotumpa. (Temm. Bonap.) 


Tue bill moderately robust, straight, and turgid at tip. Tarsus ra- 
ther short. Wings long and acute; the first primary somewhat short- 
er than the 2d, which is longest. 

These live in wooded countries, building in trees or hollow trunks 
the nest of twigs, leaves, feathers, and similar substances. Flight 
rapid and sonorous. 


t Tail short and even, consisting of 12 feathers. 
BAND-TAILED PIGEON. 


(Columba fasciata, Say, Bonar. Am. Orn, i. p. 77. pl. 8. fig. 3. Aub. 
Orn. iv. p. 479, pl. 367. Phil. Museum, No. 4938.) 


Spec. Cuaract. —Greyish-blue; a white band behind the head; 
tail with a broad blackish bar near the middle ; bill yellow, black 
at tip. 

Tue male bird, from which the description is taken by 
the Prince of Musignano, was shot in the month of July 
by Mr. Titian Peale, near a saline spring, on a small trib- 
utary of the river Platte, within the first range of the 
Rocky Mountains, from which it would appear that they 
breed in that region, 


754 PIGEON TRIBE. 


This large and fine Pigeon, always moving about in flocks, 
keeps in Oregon only in the thick forests of the Columbia 
and the Wahlamet, and during the summer is more parti- 
cularly abundant in the alluvial groves of the latter river, 
where throughout that season we constantly heard their coo- 
ing, or witnessed the swarming flocks feeding on the berries 
of the Elder tree, those of the great cornel ( Cornus Nuttall: ) 
or before the ripening of berries, on the seed-germs or the 
young pods of the Balsam poplar. Thecall of this species 
is somewhat similar to that of the Carolina Dove, but is 
readily distinguishable, sounding like a double suppressed 
syllable, as h’koo h’koo W’koo h’koo, uttered at the usual in- 
tervals, and repeated an hour or two at a time, chiefly in the 
morning and evening. According to Mr. Townsend, their 
breeding places are near the banks of the streams where 
they usually feed; they lay on the ground, under small 
bushes, without any nest or lining and numbers congregate 
together. The eggs are two, of a yellowish-white color, 
inclining to bluish-white, with minute spots at the great 
end. When perched in trees or bushes, they huddle so close 
together as to afford a very successful mark for the fowler, 
and their flesh is very tender and juicy. During the whole 
summer they still remain in flocks, frequenting the poplars 
or elder bushes, and on being started, sweep about like 
flocks, of domestic pigeons, soon returning to their fare, 
when they feed in silence, keeping a strict watch for intrud- 
ers. They remain on the lower part of the Columbia nearly 
the whole year, late in the season (October and November) 
feeding mostly on the berries of the Tree Cornel, but still 
they migrate some distance to the South, as the severity of 
of the winter approaches. Mr. Townsend observed their 
arrival in 1836 in very great numbers, on the 17th of April, 
on the Columbia, and they still continued in large flocks 
throughout the breeding season. 


WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON. Vis) 


Length 16 inches; wing from the flexure 9; tail 64. The feet 
yellow, and the nails black. Irids blackish; bare space round the 
eye carmine. Back of the neck from the base of the head, of a bril- 
liant golden-green ; under part of the neck pale vinaceous purple, the 
vent paler. Tail slightly rounded, greyish-blue at base, much paler, 
and tinged with yellow toward the end, these colors being separated 
2 inches from the tip by a band of black. 


WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON. 


(Columba leucocephala, L. Bonar. Am, Orn. iii. pl. 15. fig. 1. [female.] 
AvD. ii. p. 443. pl. 177.) 


Spec, Cuaracr. — Slate-blue ; crown cream-white ; bill red, whitish 
at tip. 


Tuts species, well known as an inhabitant of Mexico 
and the West Indies, is also gregarious, and found in 
great numbers on the rocks of the Florida Keys, where 
they breed in society, and, when first seen in the spring, 
feed principally upon the beach plum, and the berries of 
a kind of palm. From the peculiar selection of their 
breeding-places, they are known, in some of the West 
Indies, particularly Jamaica, St. Domingo, and Porto Rico, 
by the name of Rock Pigeons. They likewise abound in 
the Bahama Islands, and form an important article of food 
to the inhabitants ; particularly the young, as they become 
fully grown. 

According to Audubon, they arrive on the southern keys 
of the Floridas, from the island of Cuba, from the 20th of 
April to the Ist of May, remaining to breed during the 
summer season. ‘They are at all times extremely shy and 
weary, remaining so indeed even while incubating, skipping 
from the nests and taking to wing without noise, and re- 
maining off sometimes as much as half an hour at a time. 
In the month of May the young squabs are nearly able to 


756 PIGEON TRIBE. 


fly, and are killed in great numbers by the wreckers who 
visit the keys. The nest is placed on the summit of a 
Cactus’ shoot, a few feet from the ground or on the upper 
branches of a mangrove, or quite low, impending over the 
water; externally it is composed of small twigs and lined 
with grass and fibrous roots. The eggs are 2, white, rather 
roundish, and as large as those of the Domestic Pigeon. 
They have, apparently, several broods in the season. The 
cooing of this species may be heard to a considerable dis- 
tance, after a kind of crowing prelude he repeats his koo 
koo koo. When suddenly approached, it utters a hollow 
guttural sound, like the Common Pigeon. They are easily 
domesticated, and breed in that state freely. About the 
beginning of October they are very numerous, and now 
return to pass the winter in the West India islands. 


The length of the White-Crowned Pigeon is about 14 inches, the 
alar extent 23. The bill red at the base, above bluish-white. Feet 
carmine red. Iris orange. Cervical space small, deep purplish, chang- 
ing to violet, surrounded by a larger portion of scaly feathers, of a 
bright green, with bluish and golden reflections. Primaries dusky 
black. Tail even. — Female duller and paler colored. The young, at 
first almost black, are then and for some months without the white on 
the head. 


PARTRIDGE PIGEON. 
(Columba montana, Linn. Latu. Avp. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 382. pl. 167.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Base of the bill and naked orbits, carmine ; above 
brownish-red, with metallic purple reflections on the neck ; band 
below the eye and throat, white; neck and breast pale purple ; 
below yellowish-white, tail rounded. 


Tus beautiful species, originally discovered in Jamaica, 
was found by Audubon to be a summer resident on the 
island of Key West, near the extremity of East Florida; 


ZENAIDA DOVE. rays 


they retire in winter to the island of Cuba. ‘Their flight is 
low, swift and protracted, keeping in loose flocks or fami- 
lies of from 5 or 6 toa dozen. They dwell chiefly in the 
tangled thickets, but go out at times to the shore to feed 
and dust themselves, It contracts and spreads out its neck 
in the usual manner of Pigeons. Its cooing is not so soft 
or prolonged as that of the Common Dove, the sound re- 
sembles, whoe whoe-oh-oh-oh-oh. When surprised, it gives 
a guttural gasping sound, somewhat like that of the Com- 
mon Pigeon, in the same circumstance. They keep usually 
near shady secluded ponds, in the thickest places, and perch 
on the low branches of the trees. The nest is formed of 
light-dry twigs, sometimes on the ground, on the large 
branches of trees, or even on slender twigs. On the 20th 
of May, they each contained 2 white eggs, almost translu- 
cent. In July, they come out of the thickets in flocks of 
all ages, and frequenting the roads to dust themselves, are 
then easily procured, and considered good food. They feed 
chiefly on berries and seeds, and particularly the Sea-grape. 
They depart for Cuba, or the other West India islands, 
about the middle of October. 


Length 11} inches ; extent of wings 173. Iris carmine. Feet flesh 
colored, toes carmine. Forehead, and a band running behind the eye, 
light reddish-brown ; upper part of the head and nape shining with 
purplish-brown and light-green reflections ; wing-coverts, tail, and 
quills shaded with green; on the fore part of the back, shining purple 
reflections, fore-neck and breast of a delicate pale-purple, fading into 
eream-color behind. Under surface of the wings and tail pale brown- 
ish-red. — Female with fainter tints. Young dark grey above, lighter 
below ; bill and legs plumbeous. 


ZENAIDA DOVE. 


(Columba zenaida, Boxar. Am. Orn. iii. pl. 15. fig. 2. (female ] Avp. 
Orn. Biog. ii. p. 354. pl. 162.) 
64 


758 PIGEON TRIBE. 


Spec. Cuaract.— Brownish-ash ; beneath vinaceous ; an amethystine 
spot under each ear; tail with a black band, 4 lateral feathers pearl- 


grey at tip. 


Tis beautiful little species inhabits the Keys of Florida 
with the preceding, but is rare. It is also known to exist 
in the neighboring island of Cuba. They keep much on 
the ground, where they dust themselves and swallow gravel 
to assist digestion. When rising on the wing, the same 
whistling noise is heard from the motion of their wings as 
in the case of the common Carolina Turtle Dove. 


The Zenaida Dove measures only 1] inches. Bill and feet deep 
carmine purple. Iris dark brown. Beneath the ears a small bright 
and deep violaceous spot; above this also a smaller one. Anterior 
cervical region, with metallic golden-violet reflections, slightly passing 
into greenish. Scapulars spotted with black. Quills dusky; the 
secondaries broadly terminated with white, 2d primary longest. Tail 
nearly even, of 12 feathers. 


it With the tail long, and cuneiform. Genus Ectopistes. Swains. 
CAROLINA PIGEON, or TURTLE DOVE. 


(Columba carolinensis, L. Wi1uson, v. p. 91. pl. 43. fig. 1. Aub. Orn. i. 
p: 9L; ple k7.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Forehead and breast vinaceous ; a black spot under 
each ear; tail of 14 feathers, with 4 of the lateral ones black near 
the extremity, and white at the tip. 


Tus almost familiar Pigeon, in the course of the spring, 
leisurely migrates through the interior as far as to Canada, 
though, in the Eastern States, they are very rarely met with 
to the north of Connecticut. Many appear sedentary in 
the warmer states, where they breed as far south as Louisi- 
ana. They are also said to inhabit the Antilles; and we 
saw them not uncommon in the territory of Oregon. In 
the warmer parts of the Union they commence laying early 


CAROLINA PIGEON, OR TURTLE DOVE. 759 


in April; and in South Carolina I heard their plaintive coo 
on the 29th of January; but at the extremity of their range 
they scarcely begin to breed before the middle of May. 
They lay, as usual, 2 eggs, of a pure white, and make their 
nest in the horizontal branches of trees. It is formed ofa 
mere layer of twigs, so loosely and slovenly put together as 
to appear scarcely sufficient to prevent the young from fall- 
ing out. 

By the first fine days of the early southern spring we 
hear from the budding trees of the forest, or the already 
blooming thicket, the mournful call of the Carolina Tur- 
tle dove, commencing as it were with a low and plaintive 
sigh, a’gh coo coo coo, repeated at impressive intervals of 
half a minute, and heard distinctly to a considerable dis- 
tance through the still and balmy air of the reviving sea- 
son. This sad but pleasing note is also more distinguished 
at this time, as it seeks the noon-day warmth, in which 
to utter its complaint, and where it is now heard without a 
rival. 

The flight of this species is rapid and protracted, and, 
as usual in the genus, accompanied by a very audible 
whistling noise; they fly out often in wide circles, but sel- 
dom rise above the trees, and keep out near the skirt of 
the forest, or round the fences and fields, which they visit 
with considerable familiarity, gleaning after the crop has 
been removed, and seldom molesting the farmer, except by 
now and then raising up a few grains in sowing time, 
which may happen to be exposed too temptingly to view. 
The usual food of this species is various kinds of grain 
and small acorns, as well as the berries of the holly, dog- 
wood, poke, whortle and partridge berries, with other 
kinds, according to the season. In the nuptial period, the 
wide circling flight of the male is often repeated, around his 
mate, towards whom he glides with wings and tail expand- 
ed, and gracefully alights on the same or some adjoining 


760 PIGEON TRIBE. 


tree, where she receives his attentions, or fosters her eggs 
and infant brood. On alighting they spread out their flow- 
ing train in a graceful attitude, accompanying the motion 
by a clucking, and balancing of the neck and head, evine- 
ing the lively emotion and mutual affection they cherish. 
When the female now confines herself to her eggs, her 
constant mate is seen feeding her with a delicate and as- 
siduous attention. 

The roosting places preferred by the Carolina Turtle 
Dove are among the long and unshorn grass of neglect- 
ed fields, in the slight shelter of corn-stalks, or the bor- 
ders of meadows; they also occasionally seek harbor 
among the rustling and falling leaves, and amidst the thick 
branches of various evergreens. But in every situation, 
even though in darkness, they are so vigilant as to fly at 
the instant of approach. They do not huddle together, but 
take up their rest in solitude, though a whole flock may be 
in the same field; they also frequently resort to the same 
roosting places if not materially molested. It is a hardy 
species, enduring considerable cold, and some remain even 
in the Middle as well as the Southern States throughout 
the year; they are far less gregarious and migratory than 
the common Wild Pigeon. When their food becomes 
scanty in the fields, in the course of the winter, they ap- 
proach the farm, feeding among the poultry, with the 
Blackbirds, Sparrows, and other guests of the same acci- 
dental bounty, and, if allowed without reprisal, appear as 
gentle as domestic Doves. Raised from the nest, they are 
easily tamed, and instances are known of their breeding 
in confinement. ‘Their flesh is also much esteemed, and 
by some considered as scarcely inferior to that of the Snipe 
or Woodcock. 


The length of this species is about 12 inches, alar extent 17. Bill 
blackish, purplish red at the base ; feet also of the latter color. Crown 


PASSENGER PIGEON. 761 


and upper part of the neck, greenish-blue. The general color above 
pale yellowish-brown. Some of the inner wing-coverts spotted with 
black. Below brownish-yellow. 


oe 
== —— 
<— = oe= 
Qy <= ee 


geteeceee. 
<= 
=— 


PASSENGER PIGEON. 


(Columba migratoria, L. Witson, v. p. 102. pl. 44. fig. 1. [male.] 
Avp. pl. 62. Orn. i. p. 319.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Bluish-grey ; belly white ; throat, breast, and sides 
vinaceous ; tail black, of 12 feathers, the 5 lateral ones whitish. — 
Female paler, with the breast cinereous brown. — Young of a dull 
muddy grey, spotted with whitish. 


Tue Wild Pigeon of America, so wonderful for its gre- 
garious habits, is met with more or less according to cir- 
cumstances, from Mexico to Hudson’s Bay, in which inhos- 
pitable region they are even seen in December, weathering 
the severity of the climate with indifference, and supporting 
themselves upon the meagre buds of the juniper, when the 


ground is hidden by inundating snows. ‘To the west they 
64* 


762 PIGEON TRIBE. 


are found to the base of the Northern Andes or Rocky 
Mountains, but do not appear to be known beyond this 
natural barrier to their devious wanderings. As might be 
supposed from its extraordinary history, it is formed with 
peculiar strength of wing, moving through the air with ex- 
treme rapidity, urging its flight also by quick and very mus- 
cular strokes. During the season of amorous address it 
often ‘flies out in numerous hovering circles ; and while thus 
engaged, the tips of the great wing feathers are heard to 
strike against each other, so as to produce a very audible 
sound. 

The almost incredible and unparalleled associations 
which the species form with each other, appear to have no 
relation with the usual motives to migration among other 
birds. A general and mutual attachment seems to occasion 
this congregating propensity. Nearly the whole species, 
which at any one time inhabit the continent, are found to- 
gether in the same place; they do not fly from climate, as 
they are capable of enduring its severity and extremes. 
They are even found to breed in the latitude of 51 degrees, 
round Hudson’s Bay and the interior of New Hampshire, as 
well asin the 32d degree in the dense forests of the great 
valley of the Mississippi. ‘The accidental situation of their 
food alone directs all their movements ; while this continues 
to be supplied, they sometimes remain sedentary in a par- 
ticular district, as in the dense forests of Kentucky, where 
the great body remained for years in succession, and were 
scarcely elsewhere to be found; and here, at length, when 
the mast happened to fail, they disappeared for several 
years. 

The rapidity of flight, so necessary in their vast domestic 
movements, is sufficiently remarkable. The Pigeons killed 
near the city of New York, have been found with their 
crops full of rice, collected in the plantations of Geor- 


PASSENGER PIGEON. 763 


gia or Carolina; and as this kind of food is digested 
by them entirely in twelve hours, they must have travelled 
probably 3 or 4 hundred miles in about the half of that 
time, or have sped at the rate of a mile in a minute. With 
a velocity like this, our Pigeon might visit the shores of 
Europe in less than three days; and in fact, according to 
Flemming, a straggler was actually shot in Scotland in the 
winter of 1825. Associated with this rapidity of flight, 
must also be the extent and acuteness of their vision, or 
otherwise the object of their motions would be nugatory ; 
so that, while thus darting over the country almost with the 
velocity of thought, they still keep up a strict survey for 
their fare ; and, in passing over a sterile region, sail high 
in the air with a widely extended front, but instantly drop 
their flight, at the prospect of food, flying low, till they 
alight near an ample supply. 

The associated numbers of Wild Pigeons, the numerous 
flocks which compose the general swarm, are without any 
other parallel in the history of the feathered race ; they can 
indeed alone be compared to the finny shoals of herrings, 
which, descending from the arctic regions, discolor and 
fill the ocean to the extent of mighty kingdoms. Of their 
amazing numbers, and the circumstances attendant on it, 
the reader will do well to consult the indefatigable Wilson 
and the celebrated Audubon. Our limits, and more bound- 
ed personal information, will not allow us to enlarge on 
this curious and extraordinary subject. To talk of hundreds 
of millions of individuals of the same species habitually 
associated in feeding, roosting, and breeding, without any 
regard to climate or season, as an operating cause in these 
gregarious movements, would at first appear to be wholly 
incredible, if not borne out by the numerous testimony of 
all the inhabitants of the neighboring districts. The ap- 
proach of the mighty feathered army with a loud rushing 


764 PIGEON TRIBE. 


roar, and a stirring breeze, attended by a sudden darkness, 
might be mistaken for a fearful tornado about to overwhelm 
the face of nature. For several hours together the vast 
host, extending some miles in breadth, still continues to 
pass in flocks without diminution. The whole air is filled 
with them; their muting resembles a shower of sleet, and 
they shut out the light as if it were an eclipse. At the 
approach of the Hawk, their sublime and beautiful aérial 
evolutions are disturbed like the ruffling squall extending 
over the placid ocean; as a thundering torrent they rush 
together in a concentrating mass, and heaving in undulating 
and glittering sweeps towards the earth, at length again 
proceed in lofty meanders like the rushing of a mighty 
animated river. 

But the Hawk 1s not their only enemy, tens of thousands 
are killed in various ways by all the inhabitants far and 
near. ‘The evolutions of the feeding Pigeons as they circle 
round, are both beautiful and amusing. Alighting, they 
industriously search through the withered leaves for their 
favorite mast ; those behind are continually rising and passing 
forward in front, in such rapid succession, that the whole 
flock, still circling over the ground, seem yet on the wing. 

As the sun begins to decline, they depart in a body for 
the general roost, which is often hundreds of miles distant, 
and is generally chosen in the tallest and thickest forests 
almost divested of underwood. Nothing can exceed the 
waste and desolation of these nocturnal resorts; the vege- 
tation becomes buried by their excrements to the depth of 
several inches. The tall trees, for thousands of acres, are 
completely killed, and the ground strewed with massy 
branches torn down by the clustering weight of the birds 
which have rested upon them. The whole region for several 
years presents a continued scene of devastation, as if swept 
by the resistless blast of a whirlwind. The Honorable T. 


~ 
PASSENGER PIGEON. 765 


H. Perkins, informs me that he has seen one of these deso- 
lated roosting-grounds on the borders of Lake Champlain 
in New York, and that the forest to a great extent presented 
a scene of total ruin. 

The breeding-places, as might naturally be expected, differ 
from the roosts in their greater extent. In 1807, according 
to Wilson, one of these immense nurseries, near Shelbyville 
in Kentucky, was several miles in breadth, and extended 
through the woods for upwards of 40 miles! After occu- 
pying this situation for a succession of seasons, they at 
length abandoned it, and removed 60 or 80 miles off to the 
banks of Green River in the same state, where they con- 
gregated in equal numbers.* These situations seem reg- 
ulated by the prospect of a supply of food, such as beech 
and oak mast. They also feed on most kinds of pulse and 
grain, as well as whortle-berries, with those of the holly and 
nettle-tree. Wilson often counted upwards of 90 nests in 
asingle tree, and the whole forest was filled with them. 
These frail cradles for the young are merely formed of a 
few slender dead twigs, negligently put together, and with 
so little art, that the concavity appears scarcely sufficient 
for the transient reception of the young, who are readily 
seen through this thin flooring from below. ‘The eggs are 
white, as usual, and only two in number, one of them abor- 
tive, according to Wilson, and producing usually but a 
single bird. Audubon, however, asserts, that there are two, 
asin the tame Pigeons, where the number of the sexes in 
this faithful tribe are almost uniformly equal. Their cooing 
call, billing, and general demeanor are apparently quite 
similar to the behavior of the domestic species in the breed- 
ing-season. Birds of prey, and rapacious animals generally, 


* By some remarkable inadvertence, this place with all the circumstances, is de- 
scribed by Audubon as a roost of 40 miles by 3 in breadth, about the dimensions of 
Wilson’s breeding-place, 


766 PIGEON TRIBE. 


are pretty regular attendants upon these assailable com- 
munities. But their most destructive enemy is man; and 
as soon as the young are fully grown, the neighboring in- 
habitants assemble, and encamp for several days around the 
devoted Pigeons with waggons, axes, and cooking utensils, 
like the outskirts of a destructive army. The perpetual 
tumult of the birds, the crowding and fluttering multitudes, 
the thundering roar of their wings, and the crash of falling 
trees, from which the young are thus precipitated to the 
ground by the axe, produces altogether a scene of indescrib- 
able and almost terrific confusion. It is dangerous to walk 
beneath these clustering crowds of birds, from the frequent 
descent of large branches, broken down by the congregating 
millions ; the horses start at thenoise, and conversation can 
only be heard in a shout. These squabs, or young Pigeons 
of which three or four broods are produced in the season, 
are extremely fat and palatable, and, as well as the old 
birds killed at the roosts, are often, with a wanton prodigal- 
ity and prodigious slaughter, strewed on the ground as fat- 
tening food for the hogs! At the roosts, the destruction is 
no less extensive ; guns, clubs, long poles, pots of burning 
sulphur, and every other engine of destruction, which wan- 
ton avarice can bring forward, are all employed against the 
swarming host. Indeed for a time, in many places, no- 
thing scarcely is seen, talked of, or eaten, but Pigeons! 
In the Atlantic States where the flocks are less abun- 
dant, the gun, decoy, and net are put in operation against 
the devoted throng. Twenty or even thirty dozen have 
been caught at a single sweep of the net. Wagon- 
loads of them are poured into market, where they are 
sometimes sold for no more than a centa piece. Their 
combined movements are also sometimes sufficiently ex- 
tensive. The Honorable T. H. Perkins remarks, that 
about the year 1798, while he was passing through New 


GROUND DOVE. 767 


Jersey, near Newark, the flocks continued to pass for at 
least two hours without cessation ; and he learnt from the 
neighboring inhabitants, that, in descending upon a large 
pond to drink, those in the rear alighting on the backs 
of the first that arrived (in the usual order of their move- 
ments on land to feed,) pressed them beneath the surface, 
so that tens of thousands were thus drowned. ‘They were 
likewise killed in great numbers at the roost with clubs. 


The Wild or Passenger Pigeon is about 16 inches long, and 24 in 
alarextent. The bill black. Iris fiery orange. Legs and feet lake- 
red. Lower part and sides of the neck with a metallic changeable 
hue of gold, green, and purplish crimson, the last color prevalent. 
Scapular region spotted with a few black blotches. Quill-feathers 
dusky. — Female somewhat shorter, the changeable cervical spot 
smaller and less brilliant. 


Subgenus. —Govura. (Bon.) Genus Cuamere ia. (Swain. ) 


THE Bit slender, flexible, scarcely turgid at tip; the upper man- 
dible furrowed at the sides. Nosrrits small, orbicular, situated in 
the furrow. Tarsrratherlong. Wings short, rounded and concave, 
the Ist primary shorter than the 5th, the 3d longest.— Tail of 12 
feathers. 

These birds make some approaches to the Gallinaceous order. The 
greater number dwell on the ground, where they breed. The young 
of some of the species are said even to run as soon as hatched, and 
seek out their own sustenance. 


GROUND DOVE. 


(Columba passerina, Witson, vi. p. 15. pl. 46. figs. 2 & 3. [male and 
female.] Aun. Orn. Biog. ii. p. 471. pl. 182.) 


Spec. Cuaractr. — The scapulars with dark spots ; tail rounded, late- 
ral feathers black, tipped and edged with white ; bill black at tip, 
and with the feet yellow. 


768 PIGEON TRIBE. 


Tue Ground Dove is an inhabitant of all the States of 
the Union south of Virginia, and is met with also in the 
West Indies. They are common in the sea islands of the 
Southern States, particularly in South Carolina and Geor- 
gia, where they are seen in small flocks of from 15 to 20. 
They are found usually upon the ground, and prefer the 
open fields and cultivated tracts to the woods; their flight 
is seldom protracted, as they fly out commonly only to short 
distances ; though on the approach of winter they retire to 
the islands and milder parts of the continent, arriving again 
at their northern resorts early in April. Like some other 
species they have a frequent jetting motion with the tail, 
and the usual tender cooing and gesticulations of the tribe. 
They feed on various seeds and berries, particularly on 
those of the tooth-ache tree, near which they are frequently 
seen in the season. ‘They likewise feed on rice and other 
small grain, and become easily tamed and reconciled to the 
cage; in this way they are also occasionally fattened for 
the table, and are particularly esteemed by the French 
planters. 


This species is 64 inches long. Front, throat, breast, and sides of 
the neck, pale vinaceous purple; crown and hind-head pale blue, 
blended with purple. Back cinereous brown, scapulars tinged with 
pale purple and marked with oblong spots of glossy blue, reflecting 
tints of purple. Belly pale vinaceous brown, inclining to cinereous 
near the vent. Quills dusky, the inner vanes ferruginous. Tail 
rounded, the 2 middle feathers cinereous brown, the rest black, tipt 
and edged with white. Legs and feet yellow. Bill yellow, black at 
tip. Iris orange red.—In the female the back and tail-coverts are 
nearly of a plain mouse-color. The throat speckled with dull white, 
dusky, and muddy yellowish white ; the spots on the scapulars dark 
purplish blood-color, reflecting tints of blue. 


BLUE-HEADED PIGEON. 769 


Subgenus. — Lopnyrvs. ( Vicill. and Lesson.) StaRNENAS, 
(Genus of, Bonap.) 

Uprer mandible with a tumid fleshy covering at the base. Legs 

stout ; tarsus longer than the hind toe, covered with separate arround- 


ed scales; claws obtuse. Wings short and rounded; 3d, 4th, and 
Sth quills longest, and almost equal. 


BLUE-HEADED PIGEON. 


(Columba cyanocephala, Linn. Latu. vii. p. 87. No. 110. Avp. Orn. 
Biog. ii. p. 411. pl. 172. [male and female.] Partridge-Pigeon, 
Levaityt. Afrig. pl. 281.) 


Spec. CHaracr.— Crown bright blue, surrounded by a band of black ; 
a band of white under the eye meeting a second on the chin ; throat 
black, edged with white, its sides spotted with blue ; above choco- 
late brown, below brownish red. 


Tuts beautiful species was observed by Audubon on the 
island of Key West, in East Florida, early in May, proba- 
bly soon after their arrival from Cuba, where they abound. 
They are rarely to be seen, from their habit of keeping on 
the ground and living among dense thickets. 'They also 
inhabit Jamaica; in Cuba are commonly caught in traps, 
and brought to market in great numbers, being esteemed 
as food. ‘They admit of being tamed, but refuse to propa- 
gate in that condition. The tail is carried downwards as 
in the Partridge. They keep in small bands, are chiefly 
seen on the ground, on which they often squat, and do not 
roost on trees, 

Length 124 inches ; extent of wings 173 ; tarsus 14 inches ; weight 
10 ounces. Bill bright blue above, the fleshy parts of the base car- 
mine. Iris dark brown. Scales of the feet carmine, the interspaces 
white. Above deep chocolate, shaded with olive ; beneath brownish 
red, lighter on the middle of the breast ; the sides, and under tail- 
coverts approaching to the tint of the back. The black border of the 


head broader on the occiput. — Female rather less, but in other re- 
spects quite resembling the male. 


65 


ORDER. TEN Tee 


GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. (Gatun, Lin. &c.) 


Wiru the sit short, and convex; the upper mandible 
vaulted, curved from its base, or only at the point. Nos- 
TRILS, lateral, half covered by an arched, rigid membrane. 
Fret stout, tarsus long; toes usually 3 before, and gene- 
rally 1 behind, articulated with the tarsus higher than the 
rest, and scarcely touching the ground at tip; hind toe 
short or wanting; nails without any retraetile motion. 
Wings generally short, rounded, concave, with the quills 
rigid and curved. Tail of from 10 to 18 feathers, very 
rarely wanting. 

The female smaller, less brilliant, and differing from the 
male in plumage. The young at first covered with down 
only. The moult annual. 

These birds are generally of considerable magnitude, 
with the body very fleshy and heavy, and the head small. 
They also keep much on the ground, scratching up the 
earth often in quest of their food; and are fond of bask- 
ing and wallowing in the dust. They subsist essentially 
on grain and seeds, and not unfrequently add buds, ber- 
ries, and larger insects to their fare, and like mammalious 
animals are provided with a muscular bag or crop in 
which the food undergoes a preparatory digestion, for 


TURKEYS. 771 


which purpose they also swallow gravel, &c. They 
are chiefly polygamous; the females alone rearing and 
educating the young. The nest is made on the ground, 
and without art, and they are very prolific, the eggs being 
numerous, and the breeding long continued; the young 
run about and feed as soon as hatched, under the direction 
and at the call of the parent, who retains them under her 
charge until autumn. They run swiftly, take to wing 
with difficulty, the flight being limited and low, accom- 
panied by a whirring produced by the rapid vibration of 
the wings; very few undertake any extensive migrations. 
The voice unpleasant, consisting usually of a crowing, or 
petulant cackling. ‘The flesh is greatly esteemed for food 
in all countries; the domestic kinds are termed poultry ; 
when wild, game. 


PAVONINA. PAVONINE BIRDS. 


Wiru the head and neck garnished with pendant wattles of naked 
skin ; or with the cheeks or a space round the eyes alone naked ; 
wings ample and concave; tail horizontal, often capable of being 
erected into the form of a fan. The tarsus robust, strong, scutellated, 
furnished in the male with stout spurs. Plumage with a metalic 
splendor, and sometimes ocellated. 


MELEAGRIS. (Lin.) TURKEYS. 


WirH the Bitt entire, and at base covered by a membrane which 
is prolonged into a pendulous, fleshy, conic, erectile, hairy caruncle. 
Nostrits oblique. The Toneve fleshy and entire. Ferrr rather 
long; the tarsus naked, provided with a blunt spur in the male; the 
middle toe longest ; nails wide and blunt, flat beneath. Wings short, 


772 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


the Ist primary smallest, 4th and 5th longest. Tail of 14 to 18 dilated 
feathers, and capable of a vertical expansion. 

The head small, naked, and warty, as well as half the neck; the 
throat provided with a longitudinal, carunculous appendage ; and a 
pendulous bristly tuft on the lower portion of the neck, at length, 
common to both sexes. The feathers long, and dilated at the extrem- 
ity, the colors metallic and brilliantly iridescent, varying by reflec- 
tion. The female considerably smaller, with dull and obscure 
plumage ; the young at first similar to the female. 

The Turkey, though gregarious, is nearly sedentary in the districts 
where it is bred. They dwell generally in forests, roosting on trees ; 
and utter a gobbling noise at the dawn of day. They feed on grain 
and mast, as well as other vegetable substances. They are very 
pugnacious in the breeding-season, and address their mates in pomp- 
ous attitudes, strutting and wheeling, &c. They are also easily 
domesticated and betrayed, and are now naturalized over all the 
temperate parts of the world; their flesh being generally esteemed 
before all other poultry. The genus is peculiar to North America, 
consisting of but two species; the second (M. occellata) existing in 
the tropical forests of Honduras. They are somewhat allied to the 
Peacock, the Menura, and the Bustard of the ancient continent, 
though very distinct from every other type. 


——<———— 


WILD TURKEY. 


(Meleagris gallopavo, L. Bonar. Am. Orn. 1. p. 79. pl. 9. [both sexes.] 
Auvp. pl. 1. [male] 6 [female and young]. Orn. Biog. v. 1. p. 1.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Primaries dusky, banded with white; tail of 18 
feathers, ferruginous, thinly waved with black, and with a black 
band near the extremity.— The male, blackish, with a metallic 


coppery reflection. The female and young, dusky brownish-grey, 
with but few metallic tints. 


Tue Wild Turkey, once prevalent throughout the whole 


continent of North America, from Mexico and the Antilles, 


to the forests of Lower Canada, is now by the progress 
65* 


774 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS, 


and density of population chiefly confined to the thickly 
wooded and uncultivated tracts of the Western States, be- 
ing particularly abundant in the unsettled parts of Ohio, 
Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and throughout the vast forests 
of the great valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri. On 
the banks of the latter river, however, where the woods 
disappear, beyond the confluence of the Platte, the Tur- 
key no longer appears, and the feathers of the wings, for 
the purpose of pluming arrows, form an article of small 
commerce between the other natives and their western 
countrymen. For a thousand miles up the Arkansas and 
Red River, in the wooded alluvial lands, they are not un- 
common. ‘They are met with, in small numbers, in Ten- 
nessee, Alabama, and West Florida, and are also abundant 
in Texas, but none have been found in the Rocky Moun- 
tains or to the westward of them. From the Atlantic 
States generally they are now nearly extirpated. Accord- 
ing to Audubon a few of these valuable birds are yet found 
in the States of New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and 
Maine. 

The Wild Turkey is neither gregarious nor migratory, 
but from the necessity of wandering after food; it is oth- 
erwise resident throughout the whole of the vast region it 
inhabits, including the greatest diversity of climate; and 
it is prolific in proportion to its natural resources, so that 
while in the United States and Canada it only breeds once 
in the year, in Jamaica and the other West India is 
lands, it is said to raise two or three broods in the same 
period. In quest of mast, they therefore spread them- 
selves through the country, and insensibly assemble in 
considerable numbers to the district where their food 
abounds. These movements are observed to take place 
early in October, (the Turkey moon of the aborigines.) 
The males, or gobblers, as they are often called, from 


WILD TURKEY. 775 


their note, are now seen apart from the other sex, in com- 
panies varying from 10 toa 100. The females move sin- 
gly, or accompanied by their almost independent brood, 
who all at first assiduously shun the persecuting society of 
the selfish male. Yet after a while, when their food proves 
abundant, separate mixed flocks of all ages and sexes often 
promiscuously join in the bounteous repast. Their migra- 
tion, very unlike that of the rapid Pigeons, is made almost 
entirely on foot, until their progress is perhaps arrested by 
a river. Their speed, however, is very considerable, and 
when surprised they more commonly trust to their legs 
than their wings, running nearly with the velocity of a 
hound. On meeting with an impediment of this kind, 
after considerable delay, they ascend to the tops of the 
tall trees, and at the cluck of the leader, they launch into 
the air for the opposite shore. The transit is a matter of 
little difficulty, though considerable labor, for the older 
birds ; but the younger and less robust sometimes fall short 
of the bank, and are either drowned or attain the land by 
swimming. After crossing, it is remarked, that they often 
become an easy prey to the hunter, as they seem bewilder- 
ed by the new country in which they have arrived, or more 
probably are fatigued by the novelty and extent of their 
excursion. After long journeys and privations, particularly 
in frosty weather, or while the ground is covered with 
snow, they are sometimes reduced to the necessity of mak- 
ing their appearance near farm-houses, where they now 
and then even associate with the poultry, and enter the 
stables and cribs after grain. In this desultory and foraging 
manner they spend the autumn and winter. 

According to the latitude, and the advancement of the 
season, though always very early in the spring, they begin 
to be actuated by the instinct of propagation. The males 
commence their gobbling, and court the society of their 


776 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


retiring mates. The sexes roost apart, but in the same vi- 
cinity, and at the yelp of the female the gobbling becomes 
reiterated, and extravagant. If heard from the ground, a 
general rush ensues to the spot, and whether the hen ap- 
pears or not, the males, thus accidentally brought together, 
spread out their train, quiver and depress their rigid wings, 
and strutting and puffing with a pompous gait, often make 
battle, and directing their blows at the head occasionally 
destroy each other in a fit of jealousy. As with our do- 
mestic fowls, several hens usually follow a favorite cock, 
roosting in his immediate neighborhood, until they begin 
to lay, when they withdraw from his resort, to save their 
eggs, which he would destroy if discovered. ‘The females 
are therefore seen in his company only for a few hours in 
the day. Soon after this period, however, the male loses 
his ardor, and the advances of affection now become re- 
versed, the hen seeking out the society of her reluctant 
mate. In moonlight nights the gobbling of the male is 
heard, at intervals of a few minutes, for hours together, 
and affords often a gratifying means of their discovery to 
the wakeful hunter. After this period the males become 
lean and emaciated, so as to be even unable to fly, and 
seek to hide themselves from their mates in the closest 
thickets, where they are seldom seen. They now also 
probably undergo their moult, and are so dry, lean, and 
lousy, until the ripening of the mast and berries, as to be 
almost wholly indigestible and destitue of nutriment as 
food. So constant is this impoverished state, that the 
Indians have a proverb, ‘‘ As lean as a Turkey in sum- 
mer.” 

About the middle of April, in Kentucky, the hens be- 
gin to provide for the reception of their eggs, and secure 
their prospects of incubation. The nest, merely a slight 
hollow scratched in the ground, and lined with withered 


WILD TURKEY. 777 


leaves, is made by the side of a fallen log, or beneath the 
shelter of a thicket, in adry place. The eggs, from 10 
to 15, are whitish, covered with red dots, and measuring 2 
inches 7 eighths in length, by 2 in breadth, and rather 
pointed. While laying, the female, like the domestic bird, 
always approaches the nest with great caution, varying the 
course at almost every visit, and often concealing her eggs 
entirely by covering them with leaves. ‘Trusting to the 
similarity of her homely garb with the withered foliage 
around her, the hen, as with several other birds, on being 
carefully approached, sits close, without moving. She 
seldom indeed abandons her nest, and her attachment 
increases with the growing life of her charge. The do- 
mestic bird has been known, not unfrequently, to sit stead- 
fastly on her eggs, until she died of hunger. As soon as 
the young have emerged from the shell, and begun to run 
about, the parent, by her cluck, calls them around her, 
and watches with redoubled suspicion the approach of 
their enemies, which she can perceive at an almost incon- 
ceivable distance. ‘I’o avoid moisture, which might prove 
fatal to them, they now keep on the higher sheltered 
knolls; and in about a fortnight, instead of roosting on 
the ground, they begin to fly, at night, to some wide and 
low branch, where they still continue to nestle under the 
extended wings of their protecting parent. At length they 
resort during the day to more open tracts, or prairies, in 
quest of berries of various kinds, as well as grasshoppers, 
and other insects. ‘T'he old birds are very partial to pecan- 
nuts, winter grapes, and other kinds of fruiis, They also 
eat buds, herbs, grain, and large insects; but their most 
general and important fare is acorns, after which they 
make extensive migrations. By the month of August the 
young are nearly independent of their parent, and become 
enabled to attain a safe roost in the higher branches of 


778 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


the trees. The young cocks now show the tuft of hair 
upon the breast, and begin to strut and gobble, and the 
young hens already purr and leap. 

One of the most crafty enemies which the Wild Turkey 
has to encounter is the Lynx or Wild Cat, who frequently 
seizes his prey by advancing round, and waiting its 
approach in ambush. Like most other Gallinaceous birds 
they are fond of wallowing on the ground and dusting 
themselves. 

When approached by moonlight, they are readily shot 
from their roosting-tree, one after another, without any 
apprehension of their danger, though they would dodge 
or fly instantly at the sight of the Owl. The gobblers, 
during the season of their amorous excitement, have been 
known even to strut over their dead companions while 
on the ground, instead of seeking their own safety by 
flight. 

In the spring, the male Turkeys are called by a whistle 
made of the second joint bone of the wing of the bird, 
which produces a sound somewhat similar to the voice of 
the female; and on coming up to this call they are con- 
sequently shot. ‘They are likewise commonly caught in 
quadrangular pens made of logs crossing each other, from 
which is cut a slanting covered passage sufficient to allow 
the entrance of the Turkey. Corn is then scattered in 
a train to this cage for some distance, as well as within ; 
and the neighboring birds, in the surrounding woods, 
having discovered the grain, call on each other by a cluck- 
ing, and entering one at a time, they become secured in 
the pen, as, for the purpose of escape, they constantly 
direct their view upwards, instead of stooping to go out by 
the path which they had entered. 

The male Wild Turkey weighs commonly from 15 to 18 
pounds, is not unfrequently as much as 25, and sometimes, 


WILD TURKEY. 779 


according to Audubon, even 36. The hen commonly 
weighs about 9 pounds; and the usual price for a Turkey 
from the Indians is 25 cents! The domestic bird, when 
irritated by the sight of any remarkable object, struts out 
with expanded tail, and drooping his stiffened wings, 
swells out his wattles, which become red and turgid, and, 
advancing with a grave and haughty air, utters a humming 
sound, now and then accompanied by a harsh and disso- 
nant ruk, orook, orook, repeating it at every whistle or un- 
usual sound that strikes his ear. The exhibition of a red 
rag is also sure to excite his wrath, and induce him to rush 
with stupid temerity at the disagreeable object, which he 
exerts himself to injure or destroy. A whole flock some- 
times will unite in chasing a common cock from the poul- 
try yard, in consequence merely of some whimsical antip- 
athy. From these singular dislikes, this cowardice and 
folly, the Turkey bears in France the same proverbial im- 
putation of stupidity, which in England is bestowed on the 
Goose. The feathers of the wild bird attached to strips 
of bass, were anciently employed by the aborigines, for 
tippets and cloaks, and were so arranged that the bril- 
liant surface formed the outside of the dress; and in 
later times, similar dresses have also been made by the 
Cherokees. 

The Turkey was first sent from Mexico to Spain in the 
16th century, and in the reign of Henry the Eighth, in the 
year 1524, it was introduced into England, and soon after 
into France and other portions of Europe. 


The male Turkey is about 4 feet 1 inch in length; the alar extent 
5 feet 8inches. (The female 3 feet 1 inch in length.) Legs and feet 
purplish red. Iris hazel. Upper part of the back and wings yellow- 
ish-brown, of a metallic lustre, changing to deep purple, the retuse 
tips of the feathers broadly edged with velvet black. Quills dusky, 
banded with greyish-white. Lower part of the back and tail-coverts 
deep chesnut, banded with green and black. Tail feathers of the 


780 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


same color, undulatingly barred and minutely sprinkled with black, 
and with a broad subterminal blackish band. Beneath duller. 


AMERICAN PHEASANT, or GUAN. 
(Penelope borealis, Nowis. Phasianus americanus, Aun. 5. p. 339.) 


Aut that we know of this bird is, that my friend, Town- 
send, on the 13th of August, 1834, saw two specimens 
of this supposed long-tailed Pheasant in the pine woods of 
a deep and tangled alpine dell, which we named Thorn- 
burgh’s Pass, near Malade River, in the central part of 
the Rocky Mountains, whose summits were still deeply 
buried in snow. ‘They appeared rather tame, flying be~ 
fore the approach of our party, and alighting from time to 
time near the summits of the tall pine trees. In length it 
appeared about equal to the English Pheasant, but lighter ; 
the tail as long or longer. The general color dark brown 
or black, with some white below. Several were seen by 
others of our party the same day, but no specimen was ob- 
tained for examination. 

As no true Pheasant is likely to be ever found in Amer- 
ica, I have thought it better for the present, by way of 
approximation, to place it in the same genus with the 
Mexican Pheasant. 


PERDICINA. PARTRIDGES. 


Bitt moderate or often short, convex, robust; wings concave ; 
tail very short, rounded as if graduated; tarsus wholly naked, scu- 
tellated with lozenge shaped scales, and provided very rarely with a 
spur; toes 4 or only 3. 


AMERICAN PARTRIDGE, OR QUAIL. 781 


ORTYX. (Steru.) AMERICAN PARTRIDGES. 


Tue bill short, thick, higher than it is wide ; upper mandible curv- 
ed from the base; no naked space around the eye; nostrils basal, 
half closed by a membrane. The tarsus destitute of spur or tubercle 
in both sexes. Fore-toes united by a membrane to the Ist articula- 
tion; hind toe less than half the length of the inner; nails acute. 
The wings rounded ; with the 3d and 4th primaries longest. Tail of 
12 feathers, longer than the coverts. 

These birds alight on low trees or bushes, sometimes roosting in 
them; but also dwell much on the ground, both by night and day. 
Usually monogamous, the male taking charge of and protecting the 
young, which associate with the old until the time of pairing. These 
are peculiar to America. 


SS es" 


As 


LS ASE 
=< 


AMERICAN PARTRIDGE, or QUAIL. 


(Ortyz virginiana, Sturn. Bonar. Aup. Om. Biog. v. i. p. 273. pl. 52.3. 
Perdiz virginiana, Latu. Wixson, vi. p. 21. pl. 47. fig. 2. [male]. 
P. marilanda, Laru. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 651, [male] P. Mexicana, Inw. 
p. 763. [young.] La Caille de la Louisiane, Brisson, i. p. 258. pl. 
22. fig. 2. Burrex, Ornith. pl. enlum. pl. 149. Colenicui, ii. p. 485. 

66 


782 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


Colenicuiltic, FERNANDEZ, Hist. Nov. Hispan. p. 19. cap. 25. Co- 
turnicis simulacrum, JounstoN, WiLLuGuBy, and Ray.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Without a crest ; plumage cinnamon brown, vari- 
ed with black and whitish; throat white, bounded with a black cre- 
scent; bill black; the feet ash-colored. — Female, with the stripe 
over the eye and throat, pale yellowish-brown. Young for awhile 
without the black on the throat. 


Tue Partriage of America, exceedingly prolific, has ex- 
tended its colonies from the inclement coasts of New Eng- 
land and the western plains of Missouri to the mild latitudes 
of Mexico and Honduras. In Jamaica, where it has long 
been introduced and naturalized, the inhabitants distin- 
guish it as the Partridge, an appellation sufficiently preva- 
lent in various parts of the United States. At the north, 
this species is rarely seen to the extremity of New Hamp- 
shire, and this limit, no doubt, is determined by the length 
and severity of the winters which prevail in this rigorous 
climate. They seldom migrate, except to short distances, 
in quest of food, and consequently, often perish beneath 
deep drifts of snow, so that their existence is rendered impos- 
sible in the arctic winters of our high latitudes. Indeed, 
sometimes they have been so thinned in this part of the 
country, that sportsmen, acquainted with their local at- 
tachments, have been known to introduce them into places 
for breeding and io prevent their threatened extermination. 
So sedentary are the habits of this interesting bird, that until 
the flock is wholly routed by the unfeeling hunter, they 
continue faithfully attached to the neighborhood of the 
spot where they have been raised and supported. 

Johnston, Willughby, and Ray distinguished the Mex- 
ican bird by the quaint title of the Quail’s Image. The 
first settlers of New England also thought they saw in this 
familiar bird the Quail of the country they had relinquished. 
The too birds, are however, too different to require any 
critical comparison. Ours is even justly considered by 


AMERICAN PARTRIDGE, OR QUAIL. 783 


European ornithologists as the type of a peculiar American 
genus, to which has been given the name of Ortyx by 
Stevens, the original appellation of the Quail or Perdiz 
coturniz, as known to the ancient Greeks. The name of 
Corn, contracted by Buffon from the barbarous appellation 
of some Mexican species, has been adopted by Cuvier, 
Temminck, and Vieillot. 

Although there is some general resemblance between 
the Quail of the old and new continent in their ex- 
ternal appearance, their habits and instincts are exceed- 
ingly different. — The true Quail is a noted bird of pas- 
sage, with a favorable wind leaving Europe for the warmer 
parts of Asia at the approach of winter; and with an aus- 
picious gale again returning in the spring, in such amazing 
numbers that some of the islands of the Archipelago derived 
their name from their abundant visits. On the west coast 
of Naples, within the small space of four or five miles, as 
many as 100,000 have been taken in a day by nets. Our 
Partridge, though occupying so wide an extent of the At- 
lantic and Western States, and even penetrating into Mexi- 
co, is scarcely ever a bird of passage ; they only assemble 
in single families, which may sometimes be reduced to four 
or five by accidents, and at others increased to twenty or 
thirty. Their instinctive sociability continues uniformly, 
until interrupted in the spring by the desire of pairing; at 
this season, the eager call of the male is often heard, but it 
nearly ceases when he is mated, and is only long continued 
by those who are dissatisfied, and have been unsuccessful 
in their connexions ; and by imitating the reply of the fe- 
male, the male is easily decoyed to approach towards the 
enemy who thus allures him. On these occasions, when 
the rival candidates happen to meet, they exhibit, the only 
time in their lives, a quarrelsome disposition, fighting with 
obstinacy, until the contented victor at last gains the field 


a 


784 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


with his submissive mate. The conjugal selection being 
now concluded, they are not exceeded by any of the feath- 
ered race in their mutual attachment and common affection 
for their brood. In the vagrant Quail, the want of recipro- 
cal and durable attachment gives rise to a wholly different 
character in instinctive morality ; a common concubinage 
prevailing among them, as with our Cow Troopials. In- 
stead of the mild sociability so prevalent with our Partridge, 
they are pugnacious to a proverb; ‘‘ As quarrelsome as 
Quails in a cage,” was an ancient reproof to striving child- 
ren. ‘Their selfishness forbids all mutual alliance, and they 


find gafet Y. {yom pach thgr yn,roaming solitude. 
iy Lhe as Ee OEE depths of the forest, 


though they sometimes seek the shelter of trees, and perch 
on the low branches or hide amongst the brush and under- 
wood, Their favorite food, however, commonly conducts 
them to the open fields, where they glean up various kinds 
of grain, and are particularly fond of rye and buckwheat, 
as well as Indian corn; and when not too much disturbed 
by the sportsman, will often, paxewlerty in the autumn and 
winter, feerlessly assemble along the most public roads, or 
around the barn and stable, in search of a scanty pittance 
among the domestic fowls; like them, also, rerpindusiri- 
eusly scratching up straw, and probably the ground, in 
quest of grain and insects, which, with seeds,* and various 
kinds of buds and berries, as well as broken acorns, accord- 


ing to the season, efien constitute a-eomsiderablepart of ~ 


emaining with us commonly the whole year, the little 
social band often suffer from the inclemency of the seasons. 
At this time, they perch together on some rising ground, 
beneath the shelter of brush or briars, and forming a close 


* Among others, the oily seeds of the common Bitter weed or Ambrosia bipin- 
natifida, according to the information of Mr. Oakes, 


/ 


AMERICAN PARTRIDGE OR QUAIL. 785 
circle, with their heads outward to discern any approach of 
danger, they thus greatly aid each other by their mutual 
warmth to resist the chilling effects of frost. It is probable, 
however, they have no great fear of snow, when together, 
as they may often be seen patiently encountering the storm, 
as its white wreaths invade them, and frequently on the ar- 
rival of a thaw, unfortunate coveys, suspecting no danger, 
are found buried beneath the inundating waste, huddled to- 
gether in their accustomed form. ‘They are observed even, 
on the approach of danger, to rush into the snow for shelter, 
and it is only when the drift becomes so consolidated by a 
frozen glazing of sleet as to resist all their efforts to move, 
that it proves their grave, rather than their retreat. 

' of food, every means which gun and trap can effect-are / 
put in operation against the innocent race. Their very 

—soviability often affords méams—for-their destruction ; for 
while crowded together in a ring, a dozen or more have 
been killed at a shot, and the small remains of the unfor- 
tunate covey, feeling their weakness and solitude, are said 
to join some neighboring brood, for whom they soon form 
the same friendly attachment they had for the fraternity 
they have lost. 

From the latter end of August to the month of March, 
the markets of all our principal cities are often stocked 
with this favorite game. 

Some time in the month of May, the Quail, at the bottom 
of a sheltering tuft of grass, scratches out a cavity for her 
nest, which is usually lined substantially with such withered 
leaves and dry grass as happen to be convenient. Though 
generally open, it is sometimes partially covered by art and 
accident, but no studious concealment is ever practised by 
this artless bird. The eggs are from 15 to 20; and unlike 
the spotted charge of the true Quail, are white, and rather 


66* 


786 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


suddenly narrowed at the smaller end. The period of in- 
cubation is about four weeks. They have generally two 
broods in a season, as young birds scarcely fledged may be 
observed here as late as the beginning of October. When 
this happens, it is not uncommon to find both coveys still 
associating with their parents. Like most other Gallinaceous 
birds, the young run about as soon as they are freed from 
the shell, and gain the complete use of their wings in about 
a fortnight from hatching. ‘They are now attentively con- 
ducted by the mother, and occasionally by either parent, in 
quest of their appropriate food, and called together in a 
voice resembling the low twittering of chickens. At times 
they shelter beneath the wings of the mother; but if the 
little busy flock are startled by danger, artifice, rather than 
courage, is the instinctive means of safety employed by all 
the party. The parents flutter in the path, in real as well 
as simulated distress, and the young, instantly aware of 
their critical situation, make no useless attempts to fly, but 
vanish singly, and closely hiding among the withered grass, 
which they almost resemble in color, are thus fortunately 
rendered nearly altogether invisible. The alarm at length 
dissipated, the tender, cautious call of the parents, again 
reassembles the little grateful family. 

The eggs of the Quail have been often hatched by the 
domestic hen; but the vagrant disposition of the diminu- 
tive brood, the difficulty of procuring their proper food, 
and the superior attention they require over chickens, 
prevent the possibility of their domestication; and even 
when they have survived the winter in this state, the re- 
turn of spring leads them to wander off in compliance 
with that powerful instinct, which inspires them to a mu- 
tual separation. 

So familiar are these little birds, that occasionally, as 
described by Wilson, they have been known to lay their 


AMERICAN PARTRIDGE OR QUAIL. 787 


eggs in the nest of the domestic hen, when situated at 
any considerable distance from the habitation. From two 
eggs thus deposited were raised a pair of young Quails, 
which, when abandoned by the hen, showed their social 
attachment by accompanying the cows. These they follow- 
ed night and morning from the pasture, and when the cattle 
were housed for the winter our little Partridges took up 
their humble abode in the stable. But even these, so docile, 
and separated from all their race, on the return of spring, 
obeyed the instinct of nature, and wandered away to their 
congenial woods and thickets. It is probable at times, as 
asserted by observers, that our Quails, like some other birds, 
lay their eggs in the nests of each other; a fact which would 
only be in accordance with their usual friendship and mu- 
tual familiarity. 

The American Quail, according to Wilson, has likewise, 
in turn, been employed to hatch the eggs of the domestic 
hen, which she brought out, defended, and fed as her own 
offspring. She even succeeded in imparting to them a 
portion of her own instinct, to such a degree, that when 
alarmed, they hid in the grass, and ran timidly from sight 
like so many young Partridges, exhibiting all the wildness 
of unreclaimed birds. A flock of these Quails, however 
attentively fed, and confined, always exhibit a great degree 
of fear and shyness; their attachments remaining truly 
natural, they appear only to recognise the company of each 
other. But a solitary individual becomes friendly and 
familiar to the hand that feeds it, and, for want of more 
congenial society, forms a similar attachment to its keeper. 
In the month of September, the little brood, now nearly full 
grown, assemble in families; and at this period, as well as 
in the spring and early part of summer, the clear, whistling 
call of the male is often heard. This well known note, is 
very similar to the pronunciation of the words, ‘‘’bob white,” 
to which is often added a suppressed introductory whistle. 


788 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


While seated, perhaps on a fence-rail, or the low limb of 
an orchard tree, this peculiar note, sometimes interpreted 
in showery hay-weather into the augury of ‘ more wet, more 
wet,’’ continues uninterruptedly, at short intervals, for more 
than half an hour atatime. Du Pratz says they are known 
to the aborigines by the name of ho-ouy (’ho-wee), which is 
also imitative of the call they sometimes utter, as I have 
heard, early in a morning, from a partly domesticated covey. 
When assembled in a corner, and about to take wing, the 
same low, chicken-like twittering, as is employed by the 
mother towards her more tender brood, is repeated; but 
when dispersed, by necessary occupation, or alarm, they 
are reassembled by a loud and oft repeated call of anxious 
and social inquiry. ‘This note, ’ho-wee, is however so 
strongly instinctive, as to be commonly uttered without 
occasion, by the male even in a cage, surrounded by his 
kindred brood; so that this expression, at stated times, is 
only one of general sympathy and satisfaction like that of 
a singing bird uttered when solitary and confined to a cage. 

In consequence of the shortness and concavity of its 
wings, in common with most other birds of the same family, 
the American Quail usually makes a loud whirring noise in 
its flight, which is seldom long continued, always laborious, 
and generally so steady as to afford no difficult mark for the 
expert sportsman. According to the observations of Audu- 
bon, the flight of our Partridge and Grous, when not hurried 
by alarm, is attended with very little more noise than that of 
other birds. Whatever may be the fact, when our little 
Partridges alight on the ground, they often run out to very 
considerable distances, when not directly flushed, and 
endeavor to gain the shelter of briars and low bushes, or 
instinctively squat among the fallen leaves of the woods, 
from which, with their brown livery, it is difficult to dis- 
tinguish them. No great destruction is made among them 
while on the wing, as they do not take a general alarm on 


CALIFORNIAN CRESTED QUAIL. 789 


being approached, but rise at intervals only by two or 
three at a time. 


The American Quail is about 9 inches long, and 14 in alar extent. 
Line over the eye descending down the side of the neck, with the 
chin and throat pure white, the latter (in the full grown bird) bound- 
ed by a descending crescent of black. Crown, neck, and upper part 
of the breast reddish-brown. The sides of the neck nearly below the 
crescent, are spotted with white and black onarufous ground. Back, 
shoulders, and lesser wing-coverts cinnamon brown mingled with 
ash-color, and minutely pointed with black. Wings dusky, the coverts 
edged with yellowish-white. Lower part of the breast and belly white, 
faintly tinged with yellow, and each feather elegantly variegated with 
a wide arrow-head of black. Tail ash-colored, minutely spotted with 
reddish-brown. Bill black. Iris hazel. Legs and feet pale ash-color 
inclining to leaden-blue. — By Buffon and others, the bill of the full 
grown young, as the Mexican or Louisiana Quail, is, by mistake, 
colored red. Mauduyt, however, in the Encyclopedie Methodique 
(Ornithol.) i. pp. 599, 600, says expressly, we frequently receive this 
bird among collections made in Louisiana, but in all that we have 
seen the bill is not red, but dark brown. 


LOPHORTYX. (Bonar.) CRESTED QUAILS. 


Birt narrower and more hooked at the tip than in the preceding 
genus ; the dorsal ridge somewhat distinct. Wings shorter, primaries 
and tertiary quills about equal. Tail rounded and elongated. — Male 
with a long plumiferous crest of from 2 to 12 elongated feathers, 
Plumage elegantly pencilled; feathers of the neck lanceolate ; the 
back without spots. — Female with duller tints, and the throat of a 
different color. This genus inhabits Upper California and the milder 
parts of Mexico. The males are very pugnacious, and lively, perch- 
ing on low bushes and uttering a call almost like crowing. 


CALIFORNIAN CRESTED QUAIL. 


(Lophortyx californica, Bonar. Birds, &c. p. 42. Ortyx californica, 
Auvp. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 152. pl. 413. Perdiz californica, Latu. Syn. 
Suppl. ui. p. 281. No. 7. Tetrao californicus, Nat. Miscel. tab, 345.) 


790 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


Spec. Cuaract. — Crest of about 6 feathers ; cinereous brown, varied 
with yellowish ; the throat black, bounded with yellowish-white. — 
The female lighter, destitute of black. 


T's curious species, discovered by Menzies, is wholly 
confined to the west side of the northern Andes, and is 
common throughout the province of Upper California, and 
the territory of the Oregon. A covey were introduced 
alive to the Zoological Gardens of London, and among 
these, the pugnacious character of the males was nearly as 
conspicuous as in the Grouse. 

In small flocks and pairs they are abundant in Upper 
California, and are sometimes so gentle and confidant, as 
to show but little alarm when approached. Its manners 
are very similar to those of the common American Par- 
tridge. ‘The males in spring are often seen perched on 
low bushes, where they utter for hours their peculiar almost 
crowing call, and in the same quaint voice with its eastern 
prototype. ; 

A day or two after my arrival at Monterrey in California, 
in the evening, returning from a walk, I heard, as I thought, 
some Indians or boys calling out in a loud strain; but soon 
found that this cry was answered at small distances like the 
crowing of fowls. It was, in fact, the call of the Tufted 
Californian Quail, “hh, kA kh k’h.” About the middle 
of April, in the plains round the port of St. Diego, this 
species was very abundant ; and every now and then in the 
day, the male, perched on some low bush or hillock, was 
heard calling out, rather quickly, ké kai koo, k’kaikoo, 
which was usually answered by some other males, to the 
right and left, who were within hearing. At this time they 
were paired. About the middle of the day, we sometimes 
surprised small flocks basking and scratching in the shade 
of the bushes, 


PLUMED QUAIL, 791 


_ This species is a little larger than the Common Quail of Europe. 
Length 9} inches. Crest of 6 dusky feathers ; front dull ferruginous. 
Region round the eyes, chin, and throat, dusky black ; behind the eye 
a dull yellowish white streak ; a crescent of the same color bounds 
the black of the throat ; belly inclining to ferruginous yellowish with 
slender crescents of black. Axillary feathers dusky, with a longitu- 
dinal yellowish streak. Tail rather long, and partly cuneiform. Legs 
and bill lead-color. 


PLUMED QUAIL. 


(Lophortyx plumifera, Nozis. Perdix plumifera, Avp. Orn. Biog. 5. 
p. 226. pl. 422. Ortyx plumiferd GouLp. Aun. Synops. p 200.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Crest of 2 long feathers; above greyish-blue ; 
brown towards the rump; below chesnut; the sides barred with 
black and white crescents ; throat chesnut, surrounded with a black 
line, and succeeded by a band of white. 


Mr. TowNnsenp met with small coveys of this fine 
species of 10 to 15 individuals each, in the woods of the 
Wahlamet, not far from the Columbia. It appears here to 
be a very scarce species, being seldom seen beyond its 
chosen and secluded retreat. Its call is a rather shrill and 
quick whistle, very different from that of our Common 
American Quail. In Upper California it is probably more 
common. 


Length 11 inches ; wing from the flexure 5} inches ; tail 34 inches ; 
tarsus 1} ; 4th quill longest, the 3d and 5th scarcely shorter. On the 
top of the head 2 linear-lanceolate decurved feathers having their 
webs deflected, 3 inches and } long, in the midst of a tuft of smaller 
feathers. — Bill black. Iris red, feet dull yellow. Above with part of 
the fore neck, and part of the breast, greyish-blue ; feathers round 
the base of the bill white ; long feathers on the head black ; throat 
chesnut, margined on each side by a line of black, succeeded by a 
band of white an inch and a half in length, passing downwards from 
the eye. Back and rump reddish-brown, quills and tail feathers wood 
brown margined with reddish-brown, the inner secondaries broadly 


792 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


margined internally with white. Middle of the breast chesnut, as 
are the upper hypochondrial feathers, which are margined on their 
inner webs towards the end with a narrow black and a broad white 
band, and the sides between broadly banded with white, black, and 
brownish-red. 


WELCOME CRESTED QUAIL. 


(Lophortyx neoxenus, Noss. Ortyx neoxenus, Vicors. Aub. Orn. Biog. 
vol. v. p. 228. pl. 423. fig. [young].) 


Spec. Cuaract.—Crest short, of about 6 feathers; above olive- 
brown; below dark brown with round white spots; a rufous line 
behind the eye ; wing coverts with light margins. 


Notruine more is known of this species but that it was 
collected in the course of Captain Beechey’s vovage, on the 
north-west coast of America. 


Length 74 inches ; wing from the flexure about 44 inches ; 2d quill 
longest. The crest short, straight, directed backwards, and composed 
of about 6 elongated feathers of the same pale brown as the forehead 
in front of them. Round the eyes the brown becomes much paler, 
but assumes a rufous tinge as it passes backwards, on either side of 
the head, in two stripes, extending from above and below the eye. 
Between these stripes, and on the lower and back part of the neck, 
a number of pale brown and somewhat pointed feathers alternate with 
broad black ones ; tail crossed by about 8 wavy irregular lines of very 
pale brown. Wing-coverts dark brown with light margins ; quills 
dusky. Below dark brown, copiously marked with rounded spots 
nearly pure white ; they commence small on the neck, and increase 
in size as they proceed backwards. Bill black; iris pale brown; the 
claws horn-colored, 


ELEGANT CRESTED QUAIL. 
(Lophortyr elegans, Noss. Ortyx elegans, Lesson, D’Ornith. p. 508.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Male. Fore part of the neck spotted with black 
and white; cheeks and front grey; crest of 4 or 5 straight, rigid 


DOUGLAS’S CRESTED QUAIL. 793 


bright rufous feathers upon the occiput which is also rufous; gen- 
eral plumage slate-grey with white spots upon the wings, belly and 
flanks, which are likewise rufous. — Female with the head grey and 
rufous with a crest of 3 feathers, the neck a little vermiculated 
behind ; throat greyish, thorax cinereous; wings, back and rump 
grey brown; belly white, surrounded with brown; lower coverts 
rufous, with spots of brown. 


From Upper California. Lesson. 


DOUGLAS’S CRESTED QUAIL. 


(Lophortyx Douglasi, Bonar. p. 43. Ortyx Douglasi, Vicors. Trans. 
Lin. Soc. t. 16. p. 247.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Cinereous brown ; crest straight, of a deep brown 
as well as the upper part of the wings which are striated with fer- 
ruginous yellow ; head, cheeks, and nape striated with brown and 
bright ochreous; throat white, marked with brown; the belly with 
white spots. 


Found by Douglas in Upper California. 


Family. — TETRAONINA. GROUSE. 


Wir the bill short, convex, and robust; tarsus without spurs, 
feathered either to the toes or to the nails; wings short and concave ; 
a fleshy papillose circular band surmounting the eye like an eye-brow. 
Tail forked, or rounded. 


TETRAO. (Lin.) GROUSE. 


Wirn the zitt short, entire, and naked at the base ; upper mandible 
vaulted, and curved from its origin. Nostrits basal, half closed by 
an arched membrane, and hidden by the advancing feathers of the 
front. Tonaue short, fleshy, and acuminate. Eyr-srows naked, 
scattered with red papille. Frrr moderate ; tarsus feathered, and 


67 


794 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


spurless in both sexes; 3 toes before, united to the Ist articulation ; 
one toe behind half as long as the inner, the whole usually furnished 
with dentellated borders. Wings short, rounded; the Ist primary 
short, and the 2d not so long as the 3d and 4th which are longest. 
Tail of 18 or 16 feathers. 

The female of the larger species, very different in plumage from 
the male; in the smaller kinds the sexes differ little in appearance. 
Young of the year, and in their 2d moult, similar to the female. The 
general moult occurs twice in the year, some (in inclement climates) 
changing greatly with the season. 

These birds inhabit large forests, particularly in mountainous coun- 
tries, although some are equally addicted to plains. The Ptarmigans, 
associated in numerous flocks, are confined to the glacial regions of 
the north, or inhabit towards the summits of the high mountains in 
the centre of Europe. The Grouse live in families, are polygamous, 
abandoning the female to the charge of the progeny, and then living 
in solitude. The eggs are from 8 to14. In their manners they are 
shy, wild, and incapable of permanent domestication. Their food 
consists almost wholly of berries, buds, and leaves, to which seeds are 
only an accessory, in extreme want. Their voice is sonorous, and 
they have particular cries at the period of reproduction. Their flesh, 
as game, is considered superior to all others. They are confined to 
the cold and temperate climates of the northern hemisphere, and the 
arctic species alone are common to both continents. 


Subgenus. — Bonasta. (Bonap.) 


Lower portion of the tarsus, and toes naked. Tail long and 
rounded. The head adorned with a crest and ruff. The female 
nearly similar to the male ; and the plumage almost alike throughout 
the year. The flesh white. These live chiefly in thick forests and 
affect the hills and uplands. 


RUFFED GROUSE. 


(Tetrao umbellus, L. Wiuson, vi. p. 45. pl. 49. [male.] Aup. Orn. 
Biog. i. p. 211. pl. 41.) 


RUFFED GROUSE. 795 


Spec. Cuaract. — Mottled ; tail grey or ferruginous, of 18 feathers, 
speckled and barred with black, and with a black subterminal 
band. — Male with a ruff of broad black feathers on the sides of 
the neck. — In the female the ruff smaller, dusky-brown. 


Tuts beautiful species of Grouse, known by the name of 
Pheasant in the Middle and Western States, and by that 
of Partridge in New England, is found to inhabit the 
continent from Hudson’s Bay and the parallel of 56° to 
Georgia, but are most abundant in the Northern and Mid- 
dle States, where they often prefer the most elevated and 
wooded districts; and at the south they affect the moun- 
tainous ranges and valleys which border upon, or lie within, 
the chains of the Alleghanies. They are also prevalent in 
the Western States as far as the line of the territory of 
Mississippi, and though not found on the great western 
plains they reappear in the forests of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, and follow the Columbia nearly to the Pacific. 

Although, properly speaking, sedentary, yet at the ap- 
proach of autumn, according to Audubon, they make, in 
common with the following species, partial migrations by 
single families in quest of a supply of food, and sometimes 
even cross the Ohio in the course of their peregrinations. 
In the northern parts of New England they appear also to 
be partially migratory at the approach of winter, and 
leave the hills for lower and more sheltered situations. 
So prompt, indeed, at times are their movements, that in 
November, 1831, in travelling nearly to the extremity of 
New Hampshire, not a single bird of the species was now 
to be seen, as they had, no doubt, migrated southward with 
the first threatening and untimely snow which had fallen, 
being indeed, so unusually abundant, previously to that 
period, as to sell in the market of Boston as low as 124 
cents apiece. Although elevated countries and rocky sit- 
uations thickly overgrown with bushes and dense ever- 


796 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


greens, by rivers and brooks, are their chosen situations, 
yet at times they frequent the low lands and more open 
pine forests in the vicinity of our northern towns and 
cities, and are even occasionally content to seek a retreat, 
far from their favorite hills, in the depth of a Kentucky 
cane-brake or the barrens of New Jersey. ‘They are 
somewhat abundant in the shrubby oak barrens of Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee in which their food abounds. This 
consists commonly in the spring and fall, of the buds of 
trees, the catkins of the hazel and alder, even fern buds, 
acorns, and seeds of various kinds, among which I have 
met with the capsules, including the seeds, of the common 
small Canadian Cistus (Helianthemum). At times, I have 
seen the crop almost entirely filled with the buds of the 
Apple tree, each connected with a portion of the twig, 
the wood of which appears to remain a good while undi- 
gested; cinquefoil and strawberry leaves, buds of the 
Azaleas and of the broad-leaved Kalmia, with the favorite 
Partridge berries (Gaultheria procumbens), ivy berries 
(Cissus hederacea), and gravel pebbles, are also some of 
the many articles which form the winter fare of our bird. 
In summer, they seem often to prefer berries of various 
kinds, particularly dew-berries, strawberries, grapes and 
whortleberries. 

In the month of April, the Ruffed Grouse begins to be 
recognized by his peculiar drumming, heard soon after 
dawn, and towards the close of evening. At length, as 
the season of pairing approaches, it is heard louder and 
more frequent till a later hour of the day, and commences 
again towards the close of the afternoon. | This sonorous, 
crepitating sound, strongly resembling a low peal of distant 
thunder, is produced by the male, who, as a preliminary to 
the operation, stands upright on a prostrate log, parading 
with erected tail and ruff, and with drooping wings in the 


RUFFED GROUSE. 797 


manner of the Turkey. After swelling out his feathers, 
and strutting forth for a few moments, at a sudden impulse, 
like the motions of a crowing Cock, he draws down his ele- 
vated plumes, and, stretching himself forward, loudly beats 
his sides with his wings, with such an accelerating motion, 
after the first few strokes, as to cause the tremor described, 
which may be heard reverberating, in a still morning, to 
the distance of from a quarter to that of half a mile. This 
curious signal is repeated at intervals of about 6 or 8 min- 
utes. ‘I'he same sound is also heard in autumn as well as 
spring and given by the caged bird as well as the free, be- 
ing, at times, merely an instinctive expression of hilarity 
and vigor. ‘T’o this parading ground, regularly resorted to 
by the male, for the season, if undisturbed, the female flies 
with alacrity ; but, as with other species of the genus, no 
lasting individual attachment is formed, and they live in a 
state of limited concubinage. The drumming parade of the 
male is likewise often the signal for a quarrel ; and when 
they happen to meet each other in the vicinity of their usual 
and stated walks, obstinate battles, like those of our domes- 
tic fowls for the sovereignty of the dung-hill, but too com- 
monly succeed. When this sound, indeed, (according to 
Audubon.) is imitated by striking carefully upon an inflated 
bladder with a stick, the jealous male, full of anger, rushes 
forth from his concealment, and falls an easy prey to the 
wily sportsman. 

Some time in May, the female selects some thicket or the 
side of a fallen log, in a dense part of the woods, for the 
situation of her nest. This is formed merely of a handful 
of withered leaves, collected from the surrounding and sim- 
ilar surface of the ground. ‘The eggs, 10 to 15, more or 
less, are of a uniform dull yellowish color. The young run 
about as soon as hatched, and in about a week or ten days 
are able in some degree to make use of their wings. The 


eT ag 


798 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


mother now leads them out in search of their appropriate 
and delicate food, and broods them at night beneath her 
wings, like the common Hen; she likewise defends them 
by every stratagem which affection can contrive. On the 
appearance of an enemy, she simulates lameness, to impose 
on the unwelcome spectator ; while the young themselves 
Squat on the ground, by which they are secured, from their 
similarity to its surface. 

During summer, these birds are fond of basking and dust- 
ing themselves, and for this purpose are now and then seen 
in the public roads. When flushed, and on the instant of 
rising from the ground, the bird usually utters a cackling 
note, quickly repeated about half a dozen times, and also 
before rising utters a very peculiar lisping whistle. Like 
the Ptarmigan, the Ruffed Grouse, when alarmed in winter, 
is frequently known to plunge into the soft snow, and bur- 
row out at such a distance as frequently to elude the pur- 
suit of the hunter. Besides other successful methods of 
destruction which await the devoted Grouse, snares and 
traps of various kinds are employed to arrest them. They 
are even smoked to death, in the same manner as the Wild 
Pigeons, in the Western country, while sleeping harmlessly 
and unsuspectingly on their leafy roosts. By this system of 
indiscriminate extirpation, they are now greatly thinned 
throughout the more populous parts of the Union; and sell 
in Philadelphia and New York from 75 cents to a dollar 
apiece. The common price of these birds, (decidedly, as I 
think with Audubon, superior in flavor to the Pinnated 
Grouse,) is in the market of Boston from 40 to 50 cents the 
pair, showing how much more abundant the species is in 
the rocky regions of New England than in any other part 
of America. Deleterious effects have sometimes occurred 
from eating this game, supposed to arise from their feeding 
on the buds of the broad-leaved Kalmia; yet most persons 


PINNATED GROUSE. 799 


eat them with safety at all seasons of the year, even when 
these kinds of buds have been found almost filling the 
stomach. 


The length of this species is about 18 inches, alar extent 2 feet. 
Head, neck, and crest, black and pale chesnut in spots and bars. 
Lower part of the back and rump dusky, the feathers broadly termi- 
nated with chesnut and grey, mottled with dusky, a roundish paler 
spot towards the ends of the feathers. The black ruff presenting 
violet reflections ; coverts of the wings more mottled and rufous, a 
number of the tertials, with conspicuous oblong whitish-brown spots 
on the outer webs only; primaries pale dusky, the inner webs brown- 
ish-white with darkish spots; 4th primary longest, long axillary 
feathers white with grey bars. Throat pale rufous, with dusky spots 
below; the feathers with pale rufous and grey bars, and broad white 
tips; downy vent feathers appearing nearly white; the lower tail- 
coverts pale rufous with inverse arrow-heads of white. The flanks 
most distinctly barred. Feet and bill pale livid brown. Iris hazel. 
In many birds the tail is almost wholly grey ; in others ferruginous, 
and the general plumage brighter brown. — In Audubon’s bird, much 
brighter than they ever occur in New England; the axillary feathers 
are said to be light chesnut only. 


Subgenus. — TeETrRAo. 


Tarsus wholly feathered ; toes naked. Not varying sensibly with 
the seasons. The flesh black. These inhabit temperate and almost 
mild regions, and dwell in plains and level as well as mountainous 
countries. 


PINNATED GROUSE. 


(Tetrao cupido, L. Wison, iii. p. 104. pl. 27. fig. 1. [male.] Avup. Orn. 
Biog. 1i. p. 490. pl. 186. Phil. Museum, No. 4700, 4701.) 


Spre. Cuaract.— Partly crested, mottled; tail rather short, much 
rounded, formed of 18 nearly plain dusky feathers, tipped with 


800 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


whitish, primaries externally spotted with brownish white. — In 
the male the neck is furnished with wing-like appendages. — Fe- 
male and young without the cervical tufts. 


Cuoosine particular districts for residence, the Grouse, 
or Prairie-Hen, is consequently by far less common than 
the preceding species. Confined to dry, barren, and 
bushy tracts, of small extent, they are in several places 
now wholly or nearly exterminated. Along the Atlantic 
coast, they are still met with on the Grouse plains of New 
Jersey, on the Brushy plains of Long Island, in similar 
shrubby barrens in Westford, Connecticut, in the island of 
Martha’s Vinyard on the south side of Massachusetts Bay; 
and formerly, as probably in many other tracts, according 
to the information which [ have received from Lieut. Gov- 
ernor Winthrop, they were so common on the ancient 
bushy site of the city of Boston, that laboring people or 
servants stipulated with their employers not to have the 
Heath-Hen brought to table oftener than a few times in 
the week! According to Wilson, they are also still met 
with among the scrub-oak and pine-hills of Pocono, in 
Northampton county, Pennsylvania. They are also rather 
common throughout the barrens of Kentucky, and on the 
prairies of Indiana, and as far south as Nashville in Ten- 
nessee; but I believe, nowhere more abundant than on the 
plains of Missouri, whence they continue to the Rocky 
Mountains. Dislike of moisture, as with the Turkey, but 
principally the nature of their food, appears to influence 
them in the choice of their resort. ‘The small acorns of 
the dwarf oaks, and various kinds of wild fruits, as straw- 
berries, whortle-berries, and partridge berries, with occa- 
sional insects, abounding in these wooded thickets, appear 
to be the principal inducement to their residence ; from 
which they rarely wander at any season, unless compelled 
by a failure of their usual food, and so become, notwith- 


PINNATED GROUSE. 80I 


standing the almost inaccessible nature of the ground, a 
sure prey to the greedy and exterminating hunter. In the 
Western States, where they appear as an abundant species, 
they are, at times, observed to traverse the plains and even 
cross extensive rivers in quest of the means of subsistence. 
In winter they likewise feed on buds as well as mast, some- 
times swallowing leaves, and occasionally the buds of the 
pine. At times, if convenient, they have been known to 
visit the buck-wheat field, for their fare, or even devour 
the leaves of clover. In wintry storms they seek shelter 
by perching in the evergreens; but in spring and summer 
they often roost on the ground in company. They feed 
mostly in the morning and evening; and when they can 
stir abroad without material molestation, they often visit 
arable lands in the vicinity of their retreats. In the in- 
clemency of winter, like the Quail, they approach the 
barn, basking and perching on the fences, occasionally 
venturing to mix with the poultry in their repast; and are 
then often taken in traps. 

The season for pairing is early in the spring, in March 
or April. At this time the behavior of the male becomes 
remarkable. Early in the morning he comes forth from 
his bushy roost, and struts about with a curving neck, rais- 
ing his ruff, expanding his tail like a fan, and seeming to 
mimic the ostentation of the Turkey. He now seeks out 
or meets his rival, and several pairs at a time, as soon 
as they become visible through the dusky dawn, are 
seen preparing for combat. Previously to this rencontre, 
the male swelling out his throat, utters what is called a 
tooting, a ventriloqual, humming call on the female, three 
times repeated, and, though uttered in so low a key, it 
may yet be heard 3 or 4 miles in a still morning. About 
the close of March in the plains of Missouri, we heard 
this species of Grouse tooting or humming in all directions, 


802 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


so that at a distance the sound might be taken almost for 
the grunting of the Bison, or the loud croak of the bull- 
frog. While uttering his vehement call, the male expands 
his neck pouches to such a magnitude as almost to conceal 
his head, and blowing, utters a low drumming bellow like 
the sound of ’k’-tom-boo, ’k’-tom-boo, once or twice repeat- 
ed, after which is heard a sort of guttural squeaking crow 
or kodak, koak, koak. In the intervals of feeding we somes - 
times hear the male also cackling, or as it were crowing 
like ’ko ko ko ko, kooh kooh. While engaged in fighting 
with each other, the males are heard to utter a rapid, petu- 
lant cackle, something in sound like excessive laughter. 
The tooting is heard from before day-break till 8 or 9 
o’clock in the morning. As they frequently assemble at 
these scratching-places, as they are called, ambuscades of 
bushes are formed round them, and many are shot from 
these coverts. 

The female carefully conceals her nest in some grassy 
tussuck on the ground, and is but seldom discovered. The 
eggs are from 10 to 12; and of a plain brownish color. 
The young are protected and attended by the female only, 
who broods them under her wings in the manner of the 
common fowl, and leads them to places suitable for their 
food, sometimes venturing with her tender charge to glean 
along the public paths. When thus surprised, the young 
dart into the neighboring bushes, and there sculk for 
safety, while the wily parent beguiles the spectator with 
her artful pretences of lameness. The affectionate parent 
and her brood thus keep together throughout the whole 
season. By the aid of a dog they are easily hunted out, 
and are readily set, as they are not usually inclined to take 
wing. In the prairies, however, they not unfrequently 
rise to the low boughs of trees, and then, staring about 
without much alarm, they become an easy prey to the 
marksman. 


- 


COCK OF THE PLAINS. 803 


.The ordinary weight of a full grown bird is about three 
pounds, and they now sell, when they are to be had, in 
New York and Boston, from 3 to 5 dollars the pair. 
They have been raised under the Common Hen, but prove 
so vagrant as to hold out no prospect of domestication. 


The Grouse, or Heath-Hen, as it was also formerly called by the first 
settlers, is about 19 inches long, and 27 in alar extent. The wing- 
like tufts on the sides of the neck, each consisting of 18 feathers, of 
unequal length, are black, streaked with brown. Over the eye a 
warty bare space of an orange-color. Chin cream-color. Above 
mottled transversely with black, pale rufous, and white. Tail short, 
much rounded, and plain dusky, brownish-white at the tip, with one 
web of the middle feather sometimes mottled with black and pale 
brown. Below pale brown and white. Feet dull yellow, the toes 
pectinated. Vent whitish. Iris reddish hazel.— The female consid- 
erably smaller, and without the neck wings and yellow space over 
the eye. 


COCK OF THE PLAINS. 


(Tetrao urophasianus, Bonar. Am. Orn. ii. pl. 21. fig. 1. [female.] 
Avp. Orn. Biog. 4. p. 503. pl. 371. T. (CeEnrrocercws) urophasia- 
nus, Swans. North. Zool. ii. p. 358. pl. 58.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Tail wedge-shaped, of 20 narrow, acuminated 
feathers. — Male very dark. — Female and young mottled. 


Tus large and beautiful species of Grouse, little inferior 
to the Turkey in size, and the American counterpart of 
the Cock of the Woods, was first seen by Lewis and 
Clarke in the wild recesses within the central chains of 
the Rocky Mountains, from whence they extend in accu- 
mulating numbers to the plains of the Columbia, and are 
common throughout the Oregon Territory, as well as the 
neighboring province of California. The polygamous 


804 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


male, in the early part of the breeding season, is very pug- 
nacious; and the whole with their young are at length 
seen in flocks foraging for their subsistence in the usual 
way. Its favorite food, according to its discoverers, is 
what they term the pulpy-leafed thorn; and as their mode 
of living is stated to be similar to that of the Grouse, there 
can be little doubt that they subsist also equally on buds 
and berries. On the north branch of the Platte (Larimie’s 
Fork) we began to meet with this fine bird in considerable 
numbers, always on the ground, in small flocks or pairs, 
by no means shy, but when too nearly approached rising 
with a strong whirring noise, and uttering at the same 
time a rather loud but very short alarmed guttural cackle. 
The notes of the female indeed, at such times almost re- 
semble those of a common Hen. The old male when 
killed by Mr. Townsend turned out so different from the 
imperfect and unadult specimens figured, that we could 
scarcely recognise it for the same species. Its size seemed 
to promise a fine meal, but appearances are often deceitful, 
and after being nicely broiled it proved so very bitter, 
though delicately white, that our hungry hunters could 
scarcely swallow more than a morsel. In short, it feeds 
by choice on the bitterest shrubs of these sterile plains, 
and wormwood (several species of Artemisia) is literally 
its favorite food. 

We met with this species near to the plains around 
Walla-Walla, on the south side of the Columbia, but never 
saw it either in the forests of the Columbia or the Wah- 
lamet. It is easily approached, and rarely flies unless 
hard pressed. 

The flight of this large bird is slow, unsteady, and at- 
tended with a whirring sound, the wings being kept ina 
hurried motion, as in most other Grouse. It also runs 
much on the ground in the manner of the Turkey, and is 


COCK OF THE PLAINS. 805 


not very partial to taking wing. ‘Their starting cry, like 
that of the common Pheasant, is a sort of ’kuk, ’kuk, ’kuk. 
They begin to pair in March and April; and at this time 
repair to eminences on the banks of streams where they 
are seen assembled about sun-rise. ‘The male lowers his 
wings, and produces a humming sound as he trails his out- 
spread pinions on the ground; the tail, at the same time, 
is spread out like a fan, and the bare space on the breast 
is also accompanied by a large inflation. He then struts 
proudly in the presence of his intended mate, uttering a 
confused and disagreeable ’hurr-hurr-r-r-r-hoo’ ending in a 
deep and hollow tone, like the sound produced by blowing 
into acane. ‘They nest on the ground under the shelter 
of low bushes, or near streams among the wild Canary 
Grass of this region. ‘The nest is made of dry grass and 
slender twigs. The eggs, from 13 to 17, about the size of 
those of the domestic fowl, are of a wood-brown color, 
with irregular chocolate blotches at the thick end. The 
period of incubation extends from 21 to 22 days; and as 
in other birds of this active tribe, the young run about and 
quit the nest in a few hours after being hatched. In sum- 
mer and autumn, these large Grouse are seen only in small 
numbers, pairs or families, but in winter and spring, par- 
tially migratory, they are then seen in flocks of several 
hundreds, roaming about in quest of food. They are 
plentiful throughout the barren and arid plains of the 
Columbia, as well as in the interior of North California, 
but are nowhere seen to the east of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. 

In the autumn they frequent the streams of the Colum- 
bia river, where they feed on the Pulpy-leaved-Thorn ;* 


* A genus of plants which I propose to call *Sarcocanthus. 


68 


806 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


at which time they are considered good food by the na- 
tives, who take great quantities of them in nets. 


Length of the male about 25 inches ; the bill above, 1 inch 7 lines. 
In this sex the general color of the upper plumage is light hair-brown, 
mottled and variegated with dark umber-brown and yellowish-white. 
Each feather of the back has 3 equidistant bands of yellowish-white ; 
between these bars one of which is terminal, the hair-brown ground 
is marked with small, irregular zig-zags of light hair-brown; these 
colors cross the shaft; but on the wing-coverts and scapulars the 
shafts are all marked by a narrow, conspicuous line of yellowish- 
white. About 8 bands of this color on the tail, of different degrees 
of intensity, with intermediate irregular zig-zag lines of the same. 
The quills pale and almost unspotted. — Beneath white, and unspotted 
on the breast and upper part of the body ; but dark umber approach- 
ing to black on the lower half of the body and part of the flanks; 
the latter towards the vent are marked as the upper plumage. Under 
tail-coverts black, broadly tipped with white. Throat and region of 
the head varied with blackish on a white ground. The shafts of all 
the feathers on the breast are black, rigid, and look like hairs. Bill 
and toes blackish. Wings, in proportion to the size of the bird, very 
short; the lesser quills each ending in a small poimt. Tail rather 
long and considerably rounded, the feathers lanceolate, and gradually 
attenuated to a fine point of a dusky color. 

In the female, the upper plumage generally as well as the front 
of the neck, and sides of the breast is dark umber, or blackish- 
brown and yellowish-white, irregularly barred and mottled in nearly 
equal quantities ; but the dark color forming larger blotches towards 
the base, and the lighter one bars on the tips and stripes on the 
shafts. Fore part of the belly white, barred with black ; hinder parts 
black. 


SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 


(Tetrao phasianellus, Lix. Bonar. Am. Orn. iii. pl. 19. Aup, Orn. 
BioG. iv. p. 569. pl. 382. Swarys. North. Zool. ii. p. 361. Penn. 
Arct,. Zool. ii. No. 181.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Mottled; tail short, cuneiform, of 18 narrow, 
square feathers, the middle ones much the longest, the outer white 
at the point. — Female similar to the male. Winter plumage, darker 
and more glossy. 


SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 807 


Tits curious species of Grouse is also principally an in- 
habitant of the coldest habitable parts of the American 
continent, being found around Hudson’s Bay in the larch 
thickets throughout the whole year. It is not uncommon 
in the forests of the Rocky Mountains, and Mr. Say saw 
it in the spring likewise in Missouri, but little beyond the 
settlements, at which season it also visits the vicinity of 
Fort William, on Lake Superior. We met with it on La- 
rimie’s Fork of the Platte in June, where it was breeding. 
As an article of food it proved plump and well flavored, 
superior almost to any other of the large species in the 
United States. It is, as usual, shy and solitary, living only 
in pairs throughout the summer, when they subsist much 
upon berries. In autumn and winter they are seen moving 
in families, and frequent the thickets of juniper and larch, 
on whose buds, as well as those of the birch, alder, and 
poplar, they now principally live. They usually keep on 
the ground, but if disturbed, take to trees. When hard 
pressed by the hunter, they sometimes seek safety by 
plunging into the snow, and, quickly burrowing beneath 
it, come out at a distance, and often from a situation the 
least expected, so that they frequently make good their re- 
treat from their enemies. 

The Sharp-Tailed Grouse makes its nest on the ground, 
near some bush, with loose grass and a few feathers; the 
eggs are from 9 to 13, white, with dusky spots. ‘The young 
are hatched about the middle of June, and utter a puling 
note something like chickens. Unsuccessful attempts have 
been made to domesticate them. ‘The male has a shrill, 
rather feeble, crowing note; and both sexes, when dis- 
turbed, and on taking wing, repeat a reiterated cry of kuk, 
kuk, kuk, accompanied by a smart flirting of the tail-feath- 
ers, nearly similar to the opening and closing of a fan. In 
the breeding season the male struts about proudly, in the 


808 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


usual manner of the genus and order to which he be- 
longs. The weight of this bird is about two pounds, and 
the flesh is light brown when cooked, and is much es- 
teemed. 

The northern limit of the range of this species, accord- 
ing to Richardson, is Great Slave Lake, in 61°; and its 
most southern recorded station is in 41°, on the Missouri. 
It abounds on the outskirts of the Saskatchewan plains, 
and is found throughout the woody districts of the fur 
countries, in open glades and thickets on the borders of 
lakes, particularly in the partially cleared tracts contiguous 
to the trading posts. In winter, like the Pinnated Grouse, 
it perches generally on trees, but in summer it is much on 
the ground, and is at all times associated in coveys of 10 
to 16 individuals. Early in spring, a family of these birds 
selects a level spot, whereon they meet every morning, and 
run round in a circle of 15 or 20 feet diameter, on 
which the grass becomes worn quite bare. On approach- 
ing this ring, the birds squat close to the ground, but ina 
short time stretch out their necks to survey the intruder, 
and if not scared by any nearer advance, they soon resume 
their circular course, some running to the right, and others 
to the left, thus meeting and crossing each other. These 
“Partridge dances” last for a month or more, until con- 
cluded by the more serious employ of incubation. In 
imitation of this curious amusement of the Sharp-Tailed 
Grouse, the Indians of the upper Missouri, have what 
they call a Partridge-Dance, in which the old men chiefly 
join. 

The length of the Sharp-Tailed Grouse, is 173 inches, alar extent 23. 
The general color of the bird is a mixture of white, and different 
shades of ferruginous on a darkish ground. Breast and sides white,. 


with arrow shaped spots of dusky; the belly paler, vent almost 
wholly white, with a few very small dusky spots; 3d and 4th prima- 


DUSKY GROUSE. 809 


ries longest, outer wing-coverts brown, each feather with a conspic- 
uous terminal spot ; axillary feathers white, with a small dusky spot 
on each. Quills plain dusky, with white spots at certain distances 
on their outer webs ; secondaries spotted and tipped with white. Tail 
graduated, the middle feathers 5 inches long, the outer 2, all dark, 
varied with ferruginous of different shades and mottled with dusky, 
tapering from the base toward the point, where they suddenly dilate, 
and are emarginated at the extremity. The spring plumage is more 
bright than the autumnal, and likewise presents some differences in 
the spots and markings. 


DUSKY GROUSE. 


(Tetrao obscurus, Say, Bonar. Am. Orn. iii. pl. 18. [female.]] Avup 
Orn. Biog. iv. p. 446. pl. 361.) 


Spec. Cuaract.— Tail somewhat rounded, of 20 broad blackish feath- 
ers, with a wide terminal greyish mottled band ; anterior primaries 
spotless.-— Male blackish brown. — Female and young dusky, some- 
what mottled. 


_ Tuts large Grouse, almost representing the 7’. tetrizx of 
Europe, inhabits the Rocky Mountains from latitude 40 to 
60 degrees, and perhaps to a greater extent ; for the limits 
of its range either northward or southward have not been 
ascertained. It has been known to the fur-traders for near- 
ly 30 years, but it was first introduced to the scientific 
world by Mr. Say, who, in 1820, accompanied Major Long 
to the source of the Missouri; and a female specimen de- 
posited by him in the Philadelphia Museum, has been figur- 
ed by the Prince of Musignano in his Continuation of Wil- 
son’s Ornithology. According to Drummond, in the morn- 
ings during pairing time, the usual station of the male is on 
some rocky eminence or large stone, where he sits, swelling 
out the sides of his neck, spreading his tail, and repeating 
the cry of coombe coomhbe, in a soft, hollow tone. The 
males at this season fight with such animosity, that a man 
68* 


810 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


may take one of them up in his hand before it will quit its 
antagonist. Its food consists of various berries, and its 
flesh is very palatable. 

The Dusky Grouse breeds in the forests of the Oregon, 
where we heard and saw them throughout the summer. 
We first found them in the Blue Mountains, near Walla 
Walla. Here, in the autumn, they are seen in flocks, chiefly 
in the pine woods; they do not frequent the plains, nor 
perch on trees. They begin to pair in May, and during 
the summer, the male at various hours of the day may be 
heard making his uncouth tooting, almost like the sound 
made by blowing into the bung-hole of a barrel, boo wh’p 
wh’p wh'p wh’p, or the booming of the Bittern, the last note 
descending into a kind of echo. We frequently tried to 
steal on the performer, but without success, as, in fact, the 
sound is so strangely managed that you may imagine it to 
come from the right or left indifferently. They breed on 
the ground, as usual; the eggs are numerous, of a cinere- 
ous-brown color, and blunt at both ends. The actions of 
the female, during her brooding, and the counterfeit lame- 
ness she practises to protect the young from discovery, are 
wholly like the manners of the Ruffed Grouse. ‘The brood 
keep together nearly all winter. 


The male is about 2 feet long; the tail 8 inches. Above blackish- 
brown ; the wings paler. Top of the head glossed with hair-brown. 
The back of the neck very minutely undulated with lead-grey. The 
scapulars, tertiaries, and many of the wing-coverts tipp-d with grey, 
and, together with the rump, finely undulated with yellowish-brown. 
Secondaries edged round the tips with grey,and mottled on the edges 
with greyish-brown. Tail deep black. — Sides of the head and front 
of the neck black, passing to blackish-grey and dark lead-color on the 
breast and middle of the belly. Lores, cheeks, chin, and upper part 
of the throat, barred with white. Vent brownish-white. Shortest 
under tail-coverts white, intermediate ones barred with black and 
white, the longest black tipped with white. Flanks blackish-brown, 
finely waved with yellowish-brown, striped on the shafts and edged 


SPOTTED GROUSE, OR SPRUCE PARTRIDGE. Sil 


on the tips with white. Axillary feathers, and most of the inner 
wing-coverts white. On the sides of the neck next the shoulders, 
the base of the plumage is white ; at this part the plumage parts, and 
admits of the naked skin being puffed out at will. Bill, toes, and 
nails blackish-brown. Naked comb over the eye orange-yellow. 
There is no crest; and the 4th quill is the longest. Tail long and 
square, the feathers truncated at the ends. ‘Tarsus completely feath- 
ered. The toes pectinated.— Female 19% inches long; the general 
color blackish-brown, much lighter on the neck and beneath, having 
all the feathers barred and tipped with pale ochreous, inclining to 
brown ; these lighter portions of most of the feathers are thickly mot- 
tled with black. Sides of the head and throat whitish, with dusky 
spots. The flanks varied with rufous. Abdominal region plain cine- 
reous ; 3d and 5th primaries nearly equal; primaries, secondaries, and 
outer wing-coverts, plain dusky ; the secondaries have ochreous zig- 
zag marks on their outer webs, and are slightly tipped with dull 
whitish; the primaries are somewhat mottled with dingy white exter- 
nally, but are wholly without the regular white spots seen in other 
Grouse ; under wing-coverts, and long axillary feathers, pure white. 
Tail 73 inches, the middle feathers only with rufous mottled bars, the 
whole terminated with a broad terminal band of cinereous, speckled 
minutely with blackish. 


SPOTTED GROUSE, or SPRUCE PARTRIDGE. 


(Tetrao Canadensis, Lin. Bonar. Am. Orn. ii. pl. 20. [male]. pl. 21. 
fig. 2. [female]. Aun. Orn. Biog. 11. p. 437. pl. 176.) 


Spec. Cuaracr. — Tail moderate, rounded, of 16 broad black feath- 
ers; sides of the neck, breast, and flanks, spotted with white. — 
Male black, waved with grey ; the throat and breast deep black. — 
Female much lighter mottled ; throat and breast banded with black 
and rufous. 


Tuts dark species of Grouse inhabits the cold regions of 
Hudson’s Bay up to the 67th parallel, throughout the whole 
year, where it frequents the bushy plains. ‘To the south of 
this country, it appears to seek out the alpine elevations, 
being met with in the White Mountains of New Hampshire 


812 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


and throughout a great portion of the northern Andes, to- 
wards the sources of the Missouri and Oregon. In winter 
it visits Canada, the interior of Maine, Michigan, sometimes 
the State of New York; and it even breeds around Halifax 
in Nova Scotia, as well as in the State of Maine. In Can- 
ada it is known by the name of the Wood Partridge; by 
others it is called the Cedar or Spruce Partridge. Some- 
times they are sent in a frozen state from Nova Scotia and 
New Brunswick to Boston. 

The favorite resort of this species is in pine and spruce 
woods, and cedar swamps, which they frequent in the win- 
ter for the purpose of feeding on the buds, oily seeds, and 
evergreen foliage, to which they also add juniper berries. 
Their flesh, though palatable at all times, is considered best 
in summer, when they feed much on berries ; as the buds 
of the resinous evergreens communicate an unpleasant fla- 
vor to the game. As usual, they nest on the ground with 
little art, in the slight shelter of fallen leaves and bushes, 
and are said by Audubon to lay 8 to 14 eggs of a deep fawn 
color, irregularly splashed with different tints of brown. 
They are readily approached, and sometimes are said to be 
so unsuspicious, as, like the Ptarmigan, to allow of being 
knocked down with a stick; and, round Hudson’s Bay, are 
commonly caught by the aborigines in a simple noose fast- 
ened to a stake. When much disturbed, however, they 
betake themselves to trees, where they are readily approach- 
ed and shot down. 

In the month of May, where they breed, in the State of 
Maine, the male struts before his mate, and beating his 
wings briskly against his body, produces a drumming noise, 
clearer than that of the Ruffed Grouse, which can be heard 
to a considerable distance. ‘The males leave their- mates 
as soon as incubation has commenced, and do not join them 
again until late in autumn. 


WHITE GROUSE, OR PTARMIGAN. 813 


The Spotted Grouse is only 153 inches in length, and weighs about 
23 ounces. The general color is black and grey, mingled in trans- 
verse wavy crescents. The ground color of all the feathers is black. 
Upper tail-coverts black-brown, mottled on their margins with grey- 
ish rusty, and broadly tipped with whitish-grey. Breast deep black, 
the feathers broadly terminated with white. Under tail-coverts deep 
black, pure white for half an inch at their tips. Under wing-coverts 
and axillary feathers brownish dusky, some of the largest having 
white shafts and terminal spots. Primaries dusky,and without white 
spots. Tail 6 inches long, almost entirely black, usually with a broad 
rufous tip, which is sometimes probably worn off, though feathers of 
this kind, with the rufous termination, have been found by Mr. Oaks, 
in summer, on the summit of the White Mountains. — The female is 
more than an inch shorter; and the general plumage is much more 
varied, with less black, and more of the ferruginous. 


Subgenus. — Lacopvs. 


Tarsus and toes feathered. Tail of 18 feathers. They moult twice 
in the year, becoming white in winter, when they are gregarious, but 
are probably monogamous. 


WHITE GROUSE, or PTARMIGAN. 


(Tetrao lagopus, Lis. Larn. Ind ii. p. 639. sp. 9. Ptarmigan and 
Rock Grouse, 1pem. Synops. iv. p. 741, et Suppl. i. p. 217. Prn- 
nant, Arct. Zool. i. p. 364. No. 184. T. (lagopus) mutus, Swatns. 
North. Zool. ii. p. 350. Aun. Orn. 5. p. 196. Lagopus americanus, 
Aup. Synops. p. 207.) 


Spec. Cuaract. — Bill weak, compressed towards the point; nails 
subulate, black, and curved; the male constantly with a black band 
through the eyes. — Female without the dark acicular, cicatrice 
over the eye smaller. — Summer plumage, above greyish-rufous 
marked with numerous zig-zag black lines, on the breast and flanks 
a great number of black feathers, waved with pale rufous ; wings» 
all below the breast, and feet pure white. The female and young 
less white. 


814 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


Tue Ptarmigan is one among the very few animated 
beings, which, by choice and instinct, constantly resides 
in the coldest arctic deserts, and in the lofty mountains ot 
central Europe, where, as the snow begins to melt away, it 
seeks out its frozen bed by ascending to the limits of eternal 
ice. Like so many other animals of this inclement boreal 
region, it is common to both the old and new continent. It 
is met with in Siberia, Kamtskatka, Greenland, most parts 
of northern Europe, the Highlands of Scotland, and even 
as far south as the romantic scenes of the Jakes of Cum- 
berland, a few being still seen* in the lofty hills which 
surround the vale of Keswick, as well asin Wales. This 
species has scarcely been met with on the American conti- 
nent, except on Melville Island and Churchill river. 

They feed on many sorts of berries, particularly the 
crow-berry (Empetrum nigrum) and cow-berry ( Vaccinium 
Vitis Idea), as well as the tops of the same plant; they 
also collect catkins, buds, and the young shoots of the 
pine, heath, rose-hips, and sometimes the different kinds ot 
lichens, which they search out in the extensive burrows 
they make beneath the snow. ‘To all this bill of frugal 
fare, the Ptarmigan also sometimes adds a few insects. 
They search out their food chiefly in the morning and 
evening, and in the middle of the day are observed some- 
times to bask in the sun. Like the Esquimaux of the 
human family, whose lot is cast in the same cold and 
dreary region, they seek protection from the extreme sever- 
ity of the climate by dwelling in the snow; it is here that 
they commonly roost and work out subterraneous paths. 
In the morning, as soon as they leave their frozen dens, 
they fly out vigorously into the air in an upward direction, 
shaking the snow from their warm and white clothing. 


* Latham in 1783. 


WHITE GROUSE, OR PTARMIGAN. 815 


While thus feeding they socially call on one another at in- 
tervals, in a loud tone, and sometimes utter a sort of cack- 
ling cry, almost like a coarse and mocking laugh. 

The nest, about the middle of June, is made in open 
places where moss abounds, or in the shelter of the low, 
creeping bushes, forming the only woody growth of these 
naked and sterile regions. The eggs, 7 to 15, are oblong, 
of a rufous yellow, from the great number of large and 
small spots of black or of reddish black with which they 
are covered. From the lingering attachment of the male 
to his mate when killed, it is probable that the species may 
be monogamous, or even constantly mated. After the 
young are fully grown, and released from the care of their 
parents, they and the old are seen to assemble in flocks of 
two or three hundred, about the beginning of October, 
when they appear to migrate a little to the south in quest 
of food, or rather from the mountains towards the plains. 
At this time they are seen in great numbers round Hud- 
son’s Bay, where they assemble for subsistence; and, as 
the store diminishes, they push their tardy migrations in 
other directions for a fresh supply. Unsuspicious of the 
wiles and appetites of man, the Ptarmigan appears often as 
tame as a domestic chicken, more particularly when the 
weather is mild; they are allured even by crumbs of bread, 
and on throwing a hat towards them, or any strange object, 
they are so attracted by the appearance, as to allow of an 
approach so near, that a noose may be thrown round their 
necks, or, approached from behind, they may be knocked 
down with poles. Sometimes, however, they become wild 
enough to fly, but soon grow weary, and as tame as usual. 
When about to fly off to a distance from the hunters, they 
are instantly brought to settle down by imitating the cry of 
their enemy the Hawk. At times, trusting to the conceal- 
ment of their winter livery, they will remain motionless 


“7 


816 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


upon the snow, from which they are still distinguishable 
by their more dazzling whiteness. 

They are much esteemed as food in every country where 
they occur, and are commonly taken in nets, which are 
merely made to fall over the place where they assemble, or 
to which they are driven; and so numerous are they at 
Hudson’s Bay, that 50 or 70 are sometimes obtained at a 
single haul of a net about 20 feet square.* Between 
November and April, as many as 10,000 are taken for the 
use of the settlement; and in Europe, during the winter, 
they are carried in thousands to the market of Bergen in 
Norway, and when half-roasted or jerked, are put into 
barrels and transported to other countries as an article of 
commerce. * 

The weight of the Ptarmigan is about 24 ounces, the length 14 to 
15 inches ; of a pure white, with a band of black proceeding from 
the angle of the bill through the eyes. The lateral feathers of the 
tail black, terminated with a white border. Feet‘and toes thickly 


clad in wooly feathers. A red dentellated cicatrice over the eyes, 
Iris grey. 


WILLOW GROUSE, or LARGE PTARMIGAN. 


(Tetrao albus, Guev. Larn. Ind. u. p. 639. White Partridge. Prn- 
nant, Arc. Zool. i. p. 360. No. 183. Museum. Acad. Nat. Hist. 
Phil. Aun. Orn. ii. p. 528. pl. 191. JT. salicetit, Temm. Man. d’Orn. 
ii. p. 475. [Ed. alt.] ) 


Spec. Cuaract.— The bill short, strong, blunt, and depressed to- 
wards the point ; nails long and white, but little curved; no diffe- 
rence between the sexes in winter.— Summer plumage above 
reddish chesnut with waving black lines and spots, except on the 
fore part of the neck; beneath and wings pure white. — Female 
and young orange rufous, with larger black spots. 


* These remarks, no doubt, apply to the following species only. 


WILLOW GROUSE, OR LARGE PTARMIGAN. 817 


Tus larger species, called the Willow Grouse by Hearne, 
the Wood Grouse of the Norwegians, is another inhabi- 
tant of both continents, extending its residence to the 
eternal limits of the polar ice. ‘They are seen, though 
very rarely, in the high mountains of central Europe ; 
but are abundant in Lapland, Norway, Sweden, Green- 
land, Kamtskatka, and Iceland, always frequenting the 
forests in the elevated valleys, or the declivities of the 
highest mountains. They are seldom seen further south 
than Livonia and Esthonia; and very rarely as far as Prus- 
sia. In Americathey abound around Hudson’s Bay, where 
they are said to breed along the coast, making their nests 
on dry ridges on the ground. In the ancient continent, 
they shelter their nests in the high tufts of the heath, and 
in the dwarf willows. ‘Their eggs, 10 to 12, are longer 
than those of the preceding species, of a muddy white, or 
inclining to pale rufous, covered and marbled with great 
numbers of spots, of the color of clotted blood. They 
even breed in Labrador about the beginning of June. 
According to Audubon, they are sometimes seen in the 
state of Maine, and around Lake Michigan. This species 
also appears to be monogamous, as both sexes remain 
together, and show an equal anxiety for the safety of their 
brood. 

It is somewhat remarkable that this species, still more 
boreal than the Common Ptarmigan in Europe and Asia, 
should constantly inhabit to the south of that species in 
North America, where it seems, as it were, to have usurped 
its residence. Their general habits are very similar to 
those of the preceding. Like them, they become grega- 
rious at the setting in of winter, roaming after their food 
in flocks of as many as 200; living then, and at most 
seasons, on the tops, buds, and even seeds of the dwarf 
willow, and hence called Willow Partridges. They also 


subsist on most kinds of northern berries, and many other 
69 


818 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


kinds of buds and leaves, with the tops of the heath, and 
the seeds of the birch. As food, this species is preferred 
to the smaller Ptarmigan. 


The weight of this Grouse is 24 ounces. The length 17 inches, 
alar extent 26. Summer plumage. — Head, neck, back, scapulars, 
middle tail-feathers and their coverts, of a rufous chesnut of different 
shades, without spots on the fore part of the neck, but with black 
zig-zag lines on the other parts, and black spots on the top of the 
back ; inferior part of the breast, and all below, with the greater part 
of the wing-coverts, and the quills, white. Lateral tail-feathers black, 
tipped with whitish. Cicatrice over the eye scarlet.—In winter, 
with the exception of the lateral tail-feathers, they become wholly 
white ; and for the purpose of giving additional warmth at this in- 
clement season, the feathers, except the quills and tail, are doubled, 
a downy feather being added to the base of each; a provision com- 
mon also to the preceding species. 


ROCK GROUSE. 


(Tetrao rupestris, Latu. Ind. ii. p. 640.sp. 11. T. (Lacopus) rupestris, 
Ricu. and Swarns. North. Zool. ii. p. 354. pl. 64. [female]. Lago- 
pus rupestris, Leacu, Gen. Zool. il. p. 290. Rock Grouse, Penn, 
Arct. Zool. ii. p. 312. No. 184. Latrn. Synops. Suppl. p. 217. Aup. 
pl. 368.) 

Spec. Cuaract. — Bill rather narrow and compressed throughout ; 
nails white; tail of 16 feathers. — Summer plumage, above and 
below barred with dusky and brownish-yellow, below lighter ; 
wings above and below nearly all white. A black eye stripe in 
the male, and with the middle of the belly, white. 


Tis species is nearly allied to the Common Ptarmigan 
(T. lagopus), but it is smaller, has more of the brownish- 
yellow in its summer dress, broader bars of black, and 
none of the cinereous tint which prevails in the livery of 
the Ptarmigan. In winter they are only distinguishable 
by the size. This species is, according to Hutchins, nu- 
merous at the two extremities of Hudson’s Bay, but does 
not appear at the middle settlements (York and Severn fac- 
tories), except in very severe seasons, when the Willow 


ROCK GROUSE. 819 


Grouse are scarce. They abound in Melville Island in the 
dreary latitude of 74° and 75°, in the short summers of 
that frigid and cheerless region. It is also found on Mel- 
ville Peninsula and the Barren Grounds, and indeed seldom 
proceeds farther south in winter than the 63d parallel in 
the interior, but descends along the coasts of Hudson’s 
Bay, to latitude 58°, and in severe seasons still farther to 
the south. It is met with in the range of the Rocky 
Mountains as far to the south as the latitude of 55°. It 
also exists in Greenland, Norway and Sweden, where it is 
known by the name of sno rissa. In its manner and mode 
of living it resembles the Willow Grouse, but does not 
retire so far into the woody country in winter. -It fre- 
quents the open woods on the borders of lakes at the same 
season, particularly in the 65th parallel, though the bulk 
of the species remain on the skirts of the Barren Grounds. 
It hatches in June. The egg is of a pale reddish-brown, 
irregularly blotched and spotted with darker brown. 

Length 14 inches; the tail 4 inches; the bill above, 7 lines; the 
tarsus 1 inch 43 lines. —In winter, snow-white. The shafts of 6 
greater quills and 14 tail feathers black ; the latter narrowly tipped 
with white. Bill black. Nails whitish, dark at the base. The male 
has a black eye stripe from the nostrils to the hind head. Tail of 16 
feathers, 14 black ones and 2 white incumbent ones. — Summer 
plumage of the female. The head, neck, back, scapulars, tertiaries, 
part of the intermediate coverts, and the under plumage, barred with 
blackish-brown and brownish-yellow, the dark color predominating 
above, and the yellow beneath. Most of the dorsal plumage bor- 
dered on the tips with brownish-white. The remainder of the wing 
above, its whole surface beneath, and the axillaries, white. Quill- 
shafts slightly tinged with brown. Vent yellowish-brown. Tail of 
14 black feathers, with white tips, and 2 central incumbent ones, 
which, with the adjoining coverts, are,barred like the back. In the 
male the middle of the belly is white. The bill narrower at the base 
and more compressed throughout than that of the Willow Grouse , 


also longer and narrower than that of Tetrao lagopus. 3d and 4th 
quill longest. 


/ 


820 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 


WHITE-TAILED GROUSE. 


(Tetrao (Lacorvs) leucurus, Swains. and Ricuarps. North. Zool. ii. 
p- 396. Aup. Orn. Biog. 5. p. 200. pl. 418.) 


Spec. Cuaract.—In winter entirely white. In swmmer colored; 
tail and vent white. 


Tis species, with the habits of the Ptarmigan, inhabits 
the snowy peaks near the mouth of the Columbia river, as 
well as the lofty ridges of the Rocky Mountains. Its sum- 
mer dress is intermediate between that of Z. lagopus and 
7’. rupestris, but it differs from both, in its smaller size, 
and in the tail, which remains white at all seasons of the 
year. The black eye stripe appears also to be wanting in 
both sexes. 


Length 1 foot; tail 4 inches; the wing 6 inches 9 lines; the bill 
from above, § an inch; the tarsus 1 inch 4 lines. In winter snow 
white to the base of the plumage; quill shafts also white. Bull bluish 
or greyish-black. Nails dark horn-color. The bill less compressed 
than that of T. rupestris. Wings proportionally longer; scarcely an 
inch shorter than the tail; 3d and 4th quills longest. Tail of 16 
feathers ; the middle pair incumbent. 

In a summer specimen, the head and neck are shortly barred with 
blackish-brown and pale wood-brown or brownish-white ; the front 
of the neck paler. Tail-coverts, scapulars, tertiaries, and the pos- 
terior lesser coverts, blackish-brown, cut about half way to the shafts 
by rather coarse ochraceous bars, intermixed with nearly an equal 
number of pure ochraceous feathers thickly waved with fine black 
lines. The breast, belly, and flanks are mostly pale ochre, broadly 
blotched and barred with blackish-brown, intermixed on the belly 
with some white feathers, and on the breast with a few of the finely 
undulated ones. The vent, legs, tail, outer-border of the wing, pri- 
maries, secondaries, and greater coverts, white. The toes partially 
naked and not pectinated, the nails short. In other specimens the 
dorsal plumage, particularly on the head and neck, is nearly as grey 
as in 7. lagopus. 


APPENDIX. 


Falco sparverius. (American Sparrow-Hawk.) Mr. 
James Elliot Cabot, informs me that a nest of this species 
was found last year in Brookline, (Mass.) made in the 
deserted hole of a Yellow-Winged Woodpecker. 


Tyrannus Cooperi. (Olive-sided Flycatcher.) Mr. J. 
E. Cabot obtained a female bird, apparently of this species, 
in Brookline, where it had a nest, that was very shallow, 
but differed remarkably from all other specimens we have 
before seen, in possessing a narrow, pure white occiptal 
band. It appeared also somewhat smaller than usual. If 
it should prove a new species it might be called Tyrannus 
*torquatus, or White-Banded 'l'yrant Flycatcher. 


Vermivora chrysoptera. (Golden-Winged Vermivora.) 
This species has been shot in the spring in Brookline, 
(Mass.) by Mr. James Elliott Cabot, in whose collection [ 
have seen the nest of this bird, sent to him from the White 
Sulphur Springs in Virginia, by his brother Mr. Samuel 
Cabot. It was found in the month of July in a tuft of 
grass, made of a mass of coarse shelving and intersecting 
leaves of dry reeds, and lined with strips of grape-vine 
bark and fine blades of grass. It contained 4 white eggs, 
about the size of those of the Black-Capped Titmouse, 
round, with an abrupt small end, with a very few distinct 
scattered brown spots, chiefly of one shade, near the greater 
end. The nest is rather deep for its width, and appears to 
agree almost exactly with that attributed by Wilson to the 
Vermivora solitaria. 

Vermivora rubricapilla. (Nashville Vermivora.) Seve- 
ral fine males of this species were shot the present spring, 
(1840,) by Mr. W. Gambel in the woods near Spot Pond, 


and also near Cambridge, while feeding and actively pur- 
69* 


822 APPENDIX. 


suing their prey among the blossoms of the maple. We 
heard its song for some time, and imagined it to be that 
of the Sylvicola estiva. Its note seems like ¢’she #’she 
t’she Ushe t’she, ending with a reverberating trill, in a 
clear and loud tone. We did not hear the clicking noise 
mentioned, as so peculiar to this species, by Wilson. As 
it was at this time mated, and in the near vicinity of a 
pair of the Sylvicola virens, we have little doubt but that 
they occasionally even breed in the same neighborhood.— 
Mr. J. E. Cabot also this season shot 5 or 6 specimens of 
this rare bird. 


Sylvicola icterocephala. (Chesnut-Sided Warbler.) In 
Brookline, in the early part of June, 1839, Mr. J. E. Ca- 
bot found a nest of this elegant bird, fixed on the horizon- 
tal forked branch of an oak sapling, on which the female 
sat till very closely approached and distinctly seen. It 
was made of strips of red cedar-bark, a few blades of coarse 
dry grass, and well lined with black horse hair ; the whole 
appeared very compact and elastic, and was rather shallow 
for its width; it contained 4 white eggs, with numerous 
distinct, nearly umber brown spots of 2 or 3 sizes and 
nearly of the same shade, more numerous towards the 
great end. They were, in fact, almost entirely similar with 
those of the S. estiva. This nest also appears nearly to 
agree with the one I saw at Acton. 


Seiurus noveboracensis. (New York or Aquatic 
Thrush.) We observed the arrival of this bird in West 
Cambridge, about the 17th of May, near water courses ; 
but it was at this time silent. 

On the same day we observed the Zrichas Roscoe, on 
the borders of a stagnant stream, creeping about the roots 
of the willows, and in the neighboring thickets, in the 
manner of the common Yellow-Throat. It appeared at 
this season unusually dark above, and uttered nothing 
more than a dull chip. 


PID T-% . 


re 
Alaudine (Family), 
Alauda 


Alpestris, 
Calandra, 
Alcedine (Family), 
Alcedo, 

Alcyon, 
American Pheasant, or Guan, 
Ammodramus (Subgenus), 
Ampeline (Family), 
Athene (Subgenus), 
Anthus (Genus), 

- Ludovicianus 
Antrostomus (Genus), 
Carolinensis, 
Vociferus, 
Nuttallii, 
Aquila (Genus), 
Chrysaétos 
Astur (Genus), 
Atricapillus, 
——- Cooperu, 

Fuscus, 


Birps or Prey (Order), 
Blackbirds (Genus), 


Common Crow, 
— Cow, 
—_—-_—— Great Crow, 
—- Red winged, 
--— Rusty, 
Biue Birds (Genus), 
—-_——. Arctic, 
—_—-—— Common, 


—— Western, 
Bob-o-link, 


|Bonasia (Subgenus), 
521 Bombycilla (Genus), 
ib. Carolinensis, 
522 Garrula, 
525 Bubo (Subgenus), 
717| Buntings (Genus), 


ib. | —— Black-throated, 
718! —— Townsend's, 
780 | Butcher Birds (Genus), 


587 Buteo (Genus), 


270) Borealis, 

122 Harlani, 

516 Harrisii, 

517|——- Hiemalis, 

739 Lagopus, 

740| ——- Lineatus, 

742|-——- Montana, 

747 | ——- Pennsylvanicus, 
64 -— Vulgaris, 


65|Buzzards (Genus), 


86 Broad Winged, 

87 | —— Common, 

89 |—_—-——_ Harlan’s, 

90 | Harris's, 

— Red Shouldered, 
—. Red Tailed, 

31 ———— Rough Legged, 
204 |_—-——- White Throated, 
lh eee an Winter, 

190 
205 C 


17) Caprimulgine (Family), 
211 Caracara Eagle 
006 Cardinal Bird, 


514,Cardinalis (Genus), 
507 ~ Virginianus, 
513|/Carduelis (Subgenus), 


197 Cat Bird, 


824 INDEX. 


Cathartes (Genus), 34| Corvus Corax, 214 
——— Aura, 44 — Ossifragus, 227 
— Californianus, 42| Corythus (Genus), 638 
——— Gryphus, 35 Ennucleator, 634 
Papa, 39| Creeper (Genus), 700 
Cedar Bird, 274 —— Brown, 701 
Certhiane (Family), 700| Creeping-Warbler (Genus), 702 
Certhia (Genus), ib. Common, _ ib. 
Americana, 701 —— Northern, 705 
Chetura (Genus), 735 | Crested Quails (Genus), 789 
- Pelasgia, 736 —— Californian, ib. 
- Vaux, 733 | ——-——-—— Douglas’s, 793 
Chatterer (Genus), 270 Elegant, 792 
Waxen, 271 | ——-_——-——— Plumed, 791 
Chicadee, 260 Welcome, 792 
Chordeiles (Genus), 747| Crows (Genus), 213 
- Virginianus, 745 Common, 221 
Chuck-Will’s- Widow, Gel Fish, 227 
Cinclus (Genus), 406) Crossbills (Genus), 635 
- Americanus, 7 Common, 637 
Circus (Genus), 112} —— Parrakeet, 636 
- Cyaneus, 113, White Winged, 640 
Coccothraustes (Genus), 620 Cuckoo (Genus), 651 
- Cerulea, 624 American, ib. 
- Ludovicianus, 62] _——-—— Mangrove, 659 
Melanocepha- —_——— St. Domingo, 657 
lus, 625 Yellow-Billed, 652 
-- Vespertinus, 620) Cuculine (Family), 651 
Coccyzus (Genus), 651 | Culicivora (Subgenus), 336 
— Americanus, 652 
—— Dominicus, 657 D. 
Seniculus, 659| Dipper (Genus), 406 
Cock of the Plains, 803 American, 407 
Colaptes (Genus), 662} Dolichonyx (Genus), 196 
Auratus, 663 Bicolor, 203 
- Mexicanus, 667 Oryzivorus 197 
Columbine (Family), 752| Dove Ground, 767 
Columba (Genus), 793 - Turtle, 758 
Carolinensis, 758 | ——- Zenaida, 797 
——— Cyanocephala, 769 
— Fasciata, 753 E. 
——— Leucocephala, 755 | Eagles (Genus), , 64 
— Montana 796 Golden, 65 
— Migratoria, 761 WwW ashington, 70 
— Passerina, 767 White-Headed or Bald, 74 
Zenaida, 757 | Elanus (Genus), 95 
Condor, 39 Dispar, ib. 
Conurus (Genus). 645 | Emberizoides (Section), 189 
Carolinensis, 646 | Emberiza (Genus), 526 
Coraces (Family), 204 American, 527 
Corvus (Genus), 413) —— Townsendil, 528 
— Americanus, 221 | Erythrospiza (Genus), 627 


Erythrospiza Frontalis, 
_~ — Purpurea, 
Tephrocotis, 


By 
Falconine (Family), 
Falco (Genus), 
— AEsalon, 
Columbarius, 
—- Gyrfalco, 
Peregrinus, 
Sparverius, 
Falcons (Genus), 
— Pigeon, 
— Sparrow, 
— Wandering, 
Fishing Eagles (Genus), 
——- Washington, 


Fish Hawk, 
Finches (Genus), 
——- Arctic Ground, 


- Brown Song, 

Clay Colored, 

- Ferruginous, 

——- Field or Rush, 

- Gambel’s, 

- Henslow’s, 

- Indigo, 

- Lark, 

Lazuli, 

——-- Lincoln’s, 

——- Macgillivray’s, 

- Mourning, 

- Painted, 

- Pine, 

Savannah, 

Savanna or Yellow 
shouldered, 

Sea-side, 

Sharp-tailed, 

Shore, 


Summer, 
Swamp, 

- Towee, 

- Townsend’s, 

- Tree, 

- White-crowned, 
White-throated, 
Yellow-crowned, 


—- White-Headed or Bald, 74 


- Bay Winged or Grass, 560 


INDEX. 
631 | Flickers (Genus), 
627 — Common, 
63:2 | —_——- Red-shafted, 
Flycatchers, 
Arkansaw, 
50|-—— Fork-tailed, 
53 | ———-—— Great-crested, 
61 | ———-——_Olive-sided, 
60 | ——— Pewit, 
5a — Pipiry, 
55 | ——— Say’s, 
62 | —_—_-—— Short Legged or 
3| ———_-—— Phebe, 
60 —— Swallow-tailed, 
62) Fringilline (Family), 
50 | Fringilla (Genus), 
69 ZEstiva, 
70 | ——_——— Ameena, 
—_—— Aurocapilla, 
80 | _—_-_——- Arctica, 
545 | —— Borealis, 
61g) ——— Canadensis, 
oe Caudacuta, 
581 | ——_——— Ciris, 
579 | ——_——— Cyanea, 
580 | —— Erythropthalma, 
577 | —— Fasciata, 
556 | —— Gambelil, 
571 | —— Georgiana, 
547 | ——_—— Guttata, 
557 | __—— Grammacea, 
546 | —_-—— Graminea, 
569|___—— Henslowii, 
593 | ——_——— Hiemalis, 
555 | ———-— Ihiaca, 
55] | — Juncorum, 
601 |————-— Leucophrys, 
566 | ———— Lincolnii, 
———-— Pinaria, 
570 | ———-—  Littoralis, 
592 — Macgillivrayi, 
591 | ——-—— Magellanica, 
590 ——-—— Maritima, 
562 | Oregona, 
563 | ——_——- Pallida, 
588 Pennsylvanica, 
607 Pinus, 
583 | —— Psaltria, 
572 | ——_——- Querula, 
553 | —— Savanna 
559 |———-—— Savannarum, 
555 | —— Socialis, 


* 


826 


Fringilla Stanleyi, 
——— Townsendii, 
———— Tristis, 
———— Yarrellii, 


&. 


GALLINACEous Brirps (Order 


of,) 
Garrulus (Genus,) 
- Canadensis 
————-. Cristatus, 
————- Floridanus, 
Stelleri, 
————- Ultramarinus, 
Goatsuckers (Genus), 
Vociferous, 
Goldfinch, American, 
—— Black-headed, 
————- Stanley’s, 
Yarrell’s, 


— 


—— _ 


Goshawk, 
Goura (Subgenus), 
Granivonous Birps (Order of), é 
Gregarii, (Family), 
Greenlets (Genus), 
Grosbeaks (Genus), 

Black- need 

Blue, 

Evening, 
—— Rose- breasted, 
Ground Robin, 

Ground Warbler (Genus), 
Connecticut, 
Michener’s, 
- Mourning, 

- Tolmies, 
Grouse (Genus), 
Dusky, 
Pinnated, 
Rock, , 
Ruffed, 
Sharp-tailed, 
Spotted, 
White or Ptarmigan, 
—— White-tailed, 
Willow, 

Gyrfalcon, 


\ 


e. 
Haliztus (Genus), 
——— Leucocephalus, 
Washingtonii, 


INDEX. 


600; Hang-nest, 161 
533) Harrier, 112 
594 | __—__ Hen, 113 
600) Hawks (Genus), 86 
Cooper's, 89 
Slate-colored, 90 
| Swallow-tailed, 97 
770 White-tailed, 95 
237 Hirundine (Family), 721 
243) Hirundo (Genus), 
23 Bicolor, 731 
246, —— Fulva, 729 
243 Purpurea, 722 
245) —— Riparia, 733 
739| — Rufa, 726 
in Serripennis, 735 
594 Thallassina, 720 
598, Humming Birds (Genus), 706 
600° ———— Anna, 711 
ib. | Mango, 713 
7 | Nootka, - 714 
767, Northern, 707 
520, Yellow-crown- 
154 | ed, 712 
341) 
620) LE 
625 Icteria (Genus), 338 
624, Viridis, 339 
620, Yellow-breasted, ib. 
621 Icterus (Genus), 161 
627 Baltimore, 162 
453, Bullockii, 174 
463° Calocephalus, 186 
» 462 ——— Gubernator, 187 
459 Icterocephalus, ib. 
460 Pecoris, 190 
793 Pheniceus, 179 
809 Spurius, 175 
799 Tricolor, 186 
ib. | lctinia (Genus), 93 
794 Plumbea, ib. 
€06 | INsecTIvoRous Brmps (Order 
g11 of), 282 
813 | INrRopucTion, 1—29 
820 
816 J. 
53|Jay (Genus), 237 
—- Blue, 238 
—- Canada, 248 
69 |—~- Florida, 246 
74 |—— Steller’s, 243 
70|——- Ultramarine, 245 


K. 
King-Bird, 
Kingfishers (Genus,) 
———— Belted, 
Kinglets (Genus), 
—— American Fiery- 
crowned, 
Cuvier’s, 
—— Ruby-crowned, 
Kite Mississippi, 


L. 
Lagopus (Subgenus), 
Lampornis (Section), 
Laniine (Family), 
Lanius (Genus), 
Elegans, 
Ludovicianus, 
- Septentrionalis, 
Lark Bunting, 


Brown-collared, 
Painted, 
Lapland, 
—_—_———_- Snow, 
Lark (Genus). 
Calendre, 

— Meadow, 

—— Shore, 


Linaria (Subgenus), 
Lophortyx (Genus), 
—_———  Californica, 
Douglasii, 
—-—— Elegans, 
Neoxenus, 
Plumifera, 


Lophyrus (Subgenus), 
Loxia (Genus), 
Curvirostra, 
Leucoptera, 
——- Pytiopsittacus, 


M. 
Magpie (Genus), 
- Bullock’s 
- Common, 
- Yellow-billed, 
Martin, Purple, 
Sand, 
Meadow Lark, 
Meleagris (Genus), 

- Gallopavo, 


Merlin, 


INDEX. 
) Mimus (Genus), 
292 | Felivox, 
717) Montanus, 
718 | Poly glottus, 
499 | Rufus, 
_Mniotilta (Genus), 
503 aa Borealis, 
502 | Varia, 
500 | Mocking Bird, Common, 
93 | - Mountain, 


| Motacilline (Family), 
Muscicapine (Family), 


711] N. 
282 Nauclerus (Genus), 
283 | Furcatus, 
287 | Night Hawk, 

288 
2384 
529 
537 
536 | Nutcracker, 

534 | ——————- American, 
529 | Nuthatches (Genus), 


Common, 
| Noctua (Subgenus), 
Nucifraga (Genus), 
Columbiana, 


§21 | Brown-headed, 
525 Californian, 
156 Red-bellied, 
522) White-breasted, 
601 
789 O. 
Omnivorovs Birps (Order 
793) - ar) 


792 


791 
769 

39 
637 
640 
636 


Orioles (Genus), 

Baltimore, 

Spurious or Orchard 
Ornismva (fubgenus), 
Ortyx (Genus), 
Virginiana, 
Osprey, 

Otus (Subgenus), 
Owls (Genus), ~* 
Owl Acadian, 


? 


229 Arctic, 
237 Barred, 
230 | Brown or Aluco, 
236 |—— Burrowing, 
722 | Great Grey or Cinereous 
733 |—— Great-horned or Cat, 
156|—— Hawk, 
771) Long-eared, 
773 |—— Mottled, 
61 Red, 


828 


Owl Short-eared, 
— Small-sparrow, 
Snowy, 
Tengmalm’s, 
—— White or Barn, 


BR 
Pandion (Genus), 
- Halietus, 
Parakeet, 


Carolina, 
Parine (Family), 
Parus (Genus), 

- Atricapillus, 
——- Bicolor 

—- Carolinensis, 
——- Hudsonicus, 
——- Miniimus, 

— Rufescens, 
Partridge American or Quail, 
Passarella (Subgenus), 
Pavonine (Family), 
Pavonine Birds, 
Penelope Borealis, 
Perdicine (Family), 
Pewee, Black, 

Little, 

Small, 

Traill’s 

Wood, 


Phebe or Short-legged Pewit, 


Pica (Genus), 
Bullockn, 
Melanoleuca, 
Nuttall, 
Picide (Family), 
Picus (Genus), 

- Arcticus, 
——- Auduboni, 

- Carolinus, 
——- Erythropthalmus, 
- Formicivorus, 
—- Harrisii, 
——- Hirsutus, 
—- Imperialis, 
——- Leucotis, 
——- Lineatus, 
——- Meridionalis, 
——- Pileatus, 
——- Phillipsii, 
Principalis, 
——- Pubescens, 


INDEX. 
141 | Picus Ruber, 681 
148 - Rubricapilla, 685 
121 Septentrionalis, 684 
146 | ——- Torquatus, 679 
149 | ——- Varius, 680 
Villosus 683 
Pigeons (Genus), 753 
79 — Band-tailed, ib. 
80 | ————- Blue-headed, 769 
645 - Carolina, 758 
646 - Partridge, 756 
253 - Passenger, 761 
ib. - White-crowned, 759 
260 | Pipilo (Subgenus), 606 
955 | Pipit, 517 
265 | Pine Finch, 634 
266 | Polyborus (Genus), 51 
269 —- Braziliensis, 52 
267 | Plectrophanes (Genus), 529 
781 | Lapponica, 534 
580 | Nivalis, 529 
774 Ornatus, 537 
ib. | ——-— Picta, 536 
780 | Psittacine (Family), 644 
ib. , Ptilogonys (Genus), 361 
326 Townsendil, ib. 
324 | Purple Finches, 627 
320 | —~— — Common, ib. 
320 |—— Crimson front- 
316 ed, 631 
319 ——— Grey crowned,632 
22'}| Pyranga (Subgenus), 533 
237 
230 ; 
236 | Quail, Common, 781 
661 | Quiscalus (Genus). 204 
662 - Ferrugineus, 211 
691 | —— Major, 205 
684 |——-——-- Versicolor, 207 
677 
674 R. ’ 
682 | Raven, 214 
687 | Red-poll Lesser, 602 
692 Mealy, 605 
667 | Redstart American, 327 
690} Regulus (Genus), 499 
673 Calendula, 590 
690 | ———- Cuvieril, 502 
671 — Tricolor, 503 
686] Rice or Reed Birds, 196 
665 — — Common, 197 
687 —- — Western, 203 


Robin or Migrating Thrush , 


S. 
Scops (Subgenus), 
Seiurus (Genus), 
Selasphorus (Section), 
Setophaga (Genus), 
—-— Ruticilla, 
Shrike (Genus), 
American, 


Loggerhead, 


Sialia (Genus), 

- Arctica, 
——- Occidentalis, 
- Wilsonu, 
Sisken Arkansa, 
Sitta (Genus), 
Canadensis, 
Carolinensis, 
Pusilla, 
— Pygmea, 
Sitting (Family), 


White Winged, 


Slender Billed Birds (Order of), 694 


Snow Bird, Common, 
Oregon, 


zi 
, Sparrow, Brown Song, 


— Chipping, 


— Savannah, 
— Tree, 

— Swamp, 
Spiza (Subgenus), 
Starling, 

— Meadow, 
Strigine (Family), 
Strix, 

Acadica, 
—— Aluco, 

—— Americana, 
Asio, 

—— Pracyotus, 
—— Cinerea, 
— Cunicularia, 
Funerea, 
— Nebulosa, 
— Nevia, 

—— Nyctea, 

—- Otus, 
Passerinoides, 


— Clay Colored, 
— Common Song, 
— Field or Rush, 


INDEX. 829 
382 | Strix Scandiaca, 133 
Teugmalmi, 146 
Virginiana, 129 
124 | Struthus (Subgenus), 583 
402 | Sturnella (Genus), 155 
714 —- Ludoviciana, ib. 
326 | Surnia (Subgenus), 118 
327 | Sylvan Flycatcher, 332 
2383 | ———_—— Blue- -Grey, 337 
284 —— Bonaparte’s,332 
288 | ———_ Mitred, 333 
2237 | ——_——_—_ Small-head- 
506 ed, 334 
514 Wilson’s, 335 
‘513 | Sylvania (Genus), 332 
507 —- Bonapartii, 332 
599 - Cerulle, 337 
695 | ———--- Mitrata, 333 
697 -- Pumilia, 334 
695 -- Pusilla, 335 
698 | Sylviane (Family), 499 
699 | Sylvicola (Genus), 411 
694 ZEstiva, 417 
———— Annericana, 448 
584 | ———-— Auduboni, 414 
587 | ———-— Auricollis, A431 
581 Blackburnie, 430 
574 | ———-— Discolor, 443 
579 — Canadensis, 449 
562 — Castanea, 434 
577 Cerulea, 452 
566 | ————— Coronata, 411 
572 — Formosa, 451 
588 Icterocephala, 432 
546 — Maculosa, 422 
155 Maritima, 424 
156 — Montana, 442 
115 — Occidentalis, 445 
117 | ———— Pardalina, 424 
145 | —_——__- — Parus, 424 
137 Pensilis, 425 
149 — Pinus, 437 
127 Rathbonia, 447 
143 Ruficapilla, 416 
134 — Striata, 435 
123 — Townsendii, 476 
119 — Tristis, 472 
143 — Virens, 427 
125| Sylvicoline (Family), 410 
121| Syrnium (Subgenus), 134 
139} Swallow (Genus), 721 
14¢ | ——_——- Bank, 733 


70 


830 


Swallow, Barn, 

— Chimney, 

— Fulvous or Cliff, 
Rough-winged, 

——— Violet-green, 

White-bellied, 

Swifts (Genus), 

- Chimney, 

——-- Vaux's, 


. 
Tanagra (Genus), 
—-- Aistiva, 
—-—-— Ludoviciana, 
-- Rubra, 
Tangara’s (Genus), 
-- Louisiana 
—-—-— Scarlet, 
———.-- Summer, 
Tetrao (Genus), 
-- Albus 
—-— Canadensis, 
———-- Cupido, 
—--— Lagopus, 
——-- Leucurus, 
——-- Obscurus, 
—-—- Phasianellus, 
——-- Rupestris, 
——- Umbellus, 
——-- Urophasianus, 
Tetraonine (Order), 


Thrasher or Ferruginous Mock- 


ing Thrush, 
Thrush (Genus), 
—- Dwarf, 
Golden Crowned or 
Oven Bird, 
—_——- Hermit, 
——-— N. York or Aquatic, 
—-—— Migrating cr Robin, 
———-- Varied, 
——-— Western, 
———- Wilson’s, 
—-—— Wood, 
Thryothorus (Section), 
Titlark (Genus), 
Brown, 
Titmice (Genus), 
Titmouse Carolina, 
——-— Chestnut Backed, 
Chestnut Crowned, 


——-— Chicadee or Black Cap- 


ped, 


INDEX. 
726, - Hudsonian, 
736, Titmouse, Tufted, 
729 Trichas (Genus), 
735 | - Agilis, 
725 - Marilandica, 
731 | - Philadelphia, 
739 | - Roscoe, 
736 | - Tephrocotis, 
738 | Tolmei, 
Velata, 
| Trochilide (Family), 
537 | Trochilus (Genus), 
542 | —_———. Anna, 
543 | Colubris, 
538 |_——_— Icterocephalus, 
537 Mango, 
543 | Rufus, 
538 Troopials (Genus), 
ar 
793 | Red-winged, 
816 | ————_ Three-colored, 
811 | —————. Two-colored, 
799 | ————— Yellow Headed, 
813 — Western, 
820 Troglodytes (Genus), 
> 
806 Americana, 
8I8 Bewickii, 
794 Brevirostris, 
803 | ———-—— Hiemalis, 
293 |} Ludovicianus, 
Maculosa, 
372 Obsoletus, 
331 Palustris, 
396 Parkmani, 
Turdine (Yamily), 
404 | Turdus (Genus), 
393 Aurocapillus, 
402 Migratorius, 
382 Mustelinus, 
389 Neevius, 
400 Nanus, 
396 Noveboracensis, 
390 Solitarius, 
493 Ustulatus, 
516 Wilsonu, 
517 | Turkey (Genus), 
253 — Wild, 
265 | Tyrannus (Genus), 
267 —- Acadicus, 
269 | ——- Cooperii, 
—_—_—- Cristatus, 
260 ! ————_- Dominicensis, 


Tyrannus, Forficatus, 
—— Fuscus, 
—— -—— Intrepidus, 
— Milvulus, 
———- Nigricans, 
———-— Phebe, 
——-—— Pusillus, 
———_-— Saya, 
—— Trailii, 
Verticalis, 
———--— Virens, 


Us 
Ulula (Subgenus), 


, 

Veery, 
Vermivora (Genus), 
Bachmanii, 
—_——_———. Carbonata, 
Celata, 
Chrysoptera, 
Nigresceus, 
Peregrina, 
Pennsylvanica, 
Protonotarius, 
Rubricapilla, 
— Solitaria, 
Swainson, 
Vermivora (Genus), 
Bachman’s, 
Black-Throated- 

rey 
——-—— Dusky, 


Nashville, 


— Orange-crowned, 


Pennsylvanian, 
Prothonotary, 
——_——- — Solitary, 
Swainson’s 
Tennessee, 
Vireo (Genus), 

- Bartramil, 

——- Flavifrons, 

—- Gilvus, 

—- Longirostris, 

—- Noveboracensis, 
—- Olivaceus, 
Solitarius, 

Vireos (Genus), 

— Bartram’s, 


Golden- Winged, 


INDEX. 831 
309) Vireos Long-billed, 3909 
312 | Red- -eyed, 393 
292 ——— Solitary, 345 
307, ——— Yellow-throated, 342 
326 ——— Warbling, 300 
391 — White-eyed, 347 
324 | Vultures (Genus), 33 
oll —- Black or Carrion Crow, 47 
323 | ——-—- Californian, 42 
306 | ———-— Turkey or Buzzard, 44 
316 
W. 
Wagtails, 516 
142] Warblers, 410 
Whip-poor-will, 742 
Woodpeckers (Genus), 660 
396 | —— Ant-eating, 682 
463 | ——_——-——. Audubon’s, 684 
469 Banded three- 
470 toed, 692 
473 |— Crimson-crown- 
468 ed, 685 
471 | —-——-—— Downy, 687 
469 | —— — Golden-winged, 
464 or Flicker, 663 
466 | —— Great spotted, 684 
472 | ——_—_————- Hairy, 683 
467 | ——_—-——— Harris's, 687 
465 | ——_—-— Imperial, 667 
463 |———-——-— Ivory-billed, 668 
469 | ——— Lewis's, 679 
—_——_—_—__—— Lineated, 673 
471 | ———_—_-——-_ Little Georgian, 690 
470 | —— Northern three- 
468 toed, 691 
472 —— Pileated or log- 
473 cock, 671 
464 | ——————-— Phillip’s, 686 
466 | —————_— Red-bellied, 677 
467 | ——_—__ Red-breasted, 681 
465 | —— Red-cockaded, 690 
469 | ———-——— Red-headed, 674 
341] | ——— Yellow -bellied, 680 
398 | Wood-Wagtails (Genus), 403 
342| Wood Warbler (Genus), 411 
300) — —- Audubon’s 414 
Jo9 | ——-————-—. Bay-breasted, 434 
347 | —-—- Blackburnian, 430 
393 | ————---—— Black-throated 
345 blue, 449 
308 | ———- Black-throated 
ib. green, 427 


832 


Wood Warbler, Black and yel- 


low, 422 
apis — Blue moun- 

tain, 442 
——--————— Black poll, 435 
—_——- Canada, 424 
——-———_—— Cape May, 424 


————-—-—Chestnut-sided 432 


——__—__——-— Coerulean, 452 
———-——-— Hemlock, 440) 
+———_—_-—~ Hermit, 445 
———- - Kentucky, 45] 
eee Orange-throat- 

ed, 431 
———-——-— Particolored, 448 
eee Pine, 437 
—_——_—-——-— Prairie, 443 
eS ee Rathbone’s, 447 
—_—_-———-— Summer yel- 

low, A417 
memes. Sa Townsend’s 446 
———— -—-— Yellow-crown- 

ed, 411 
we Yellow-throat- 

ed grey, 425 
—__—-——-— Yellow Red- 

Poll, 416 


INDEX. 


Worm-eating Warblers, 
Wrens (Genus), 


——— Bewick’s, 

——— House, 

Marsh, 

—-—- Parkman’s, 

Rock, 

Short-billed Marsh, 
Spotted grey, 
Wood, 

Winter, 


Xanthornus (Subgenus), 


Yellow-bird, 
Yellow-throat, Maryland, 
——__—_—_——- Masked, 
——————— Roscoe’s, 


Z. 
ZyGopactytt, (Order of,) 


— Carolina or Mocking, 


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